Penetrating the Smokescreen
by Dreams of Eternity
Summary: [Zutara] Based after episode 22: The Cave of Two Lovers. Aang's group makes it to Omashu, only to find it occupied by firebenders. Katara is forced to make an unexpected alliance... and even more unexpected are the feelings that ensue.
1. Chapter one

_Hee hee, my first Avatar fan fiction (woot woot!) So, um, yeah, as the summary stated, this is a Zutara fic, based after episode 22: The Cave of Two Lovers. Enjoy and please review! …Oh, and don't mind the title. I have no idea **what **I was thinking._

_Disclaimer:_ Avatar: The Last Airbender definitely does _not_ belong to me (although I often wish it did... )

_Penetrating the Smokescreen_

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Chapter one

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The midday sun shone brightly, its warm rays reaching to touch the forms of three teens that were slowly clambering their way up a sparsely vegetated rocky hill. Katara glanced upwards towards the sky, reserving a moment to watch several white fluffy clouds scuttle lazily across the azure horizon. It was not long, however, before her solitary thoughts were interrupted as she became aware of her brother Sokka's voice being carried back to her on the breeze. He walked several feet in front of her, leading the group up the incline. Katara grinned as she began to make out his words, most of which were referring to the odd band of nomads that they had just recently parted with.

"The journey was long and annoying, but now you get to see what it's really about: the destination. I present to you the Earth Kingdom city of Om-"

Sokka halted at the crest of the hill, looking triumphant as his gaze moved from the two still-climbing teens behind him to admire the great earth-bending city of Omashu. His body stiffened visibly as he caught sight of what lay before him.

"...oh no..."

Katara heard Aang's sharp intake of breath beside her as the sight before them filled their vision.

Dark smoke funneled upwards from certain areas of the smoldering city, creating a dirty haze that spread across the valley like an infectious disease. A flash of red caught Katara's eye as she scanned the city, and she was immediately drawn to the large red banner that hung condescendingly across one of the city's main walls. The emblem of the fire nation was a blatant declaration of their victory over Omashu.

"How could this have happened?" Aang's quietly stated words were nevertheless a shocking interruption of the silence that had hung over the three like a stifling blanket. Katara glanced up, catching her brother's worried gaze. Appa grunted softly behind them, and Sokka finally seemed to return to himself.

"I don't know, Aang. But we definitely can't stay standing up here; there're probably Fire Nation troops patrolling this area." Sokka glanced back the way they had come, noting with relief that there was a nearby forest that could provide them some shelter from unwanted attention. "Come on."

Putting a comforting hand on Aang's shoulder, Katara's sapphire blue eyes made contact with his own set of large and confused ones. "Let's go, Aang..." She gently led him back down the slope, her worried eyes watching his back as he dejectedly followed her brother into the nearby woods.

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Zuko awoke to a loud grumbling sound, and an aching discomfort in his stomach region that had become all too familiar recently. Rolling over onto his side, he caught sight of his uncle sleeping beside him. The growling sound persisted, and Zuko placed one hand on his stomach with a frustrated growl of his own. _If I _had_ any food for you, I would have fed you already!_

A ray of golden sunlight slid through the branches of the tree that they had spent the night under. Its limbs had offered them protection from unwelcome eyes, which for the banished prince was attention from pretty much anyone. Running a hand through his short, bristly hair, Zuko glared at his still-sleeping uncle, silently debating whether or not to give him an ungentle nudge to wake him.

As if sensing his nephew's internal strife, the retired and now exiled general cracked open one of his amber eyes, regarding Zuko with a gaze that was somewhere in between an accusation and wry amusement.

Zuko sat back on his heels, his eyes widening with mock innocence. "What?"

Zuko's good mood, however, vanished once again as his stomach reminded him, _once again_, that it had been a full day and a half since he had last eaten. "We must be nearing a town soon, Uncle. We need to stop and find something to eat."

"But Zuko, we are fugitives! We cannot simply stroll into a town, whether Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation, and buy supplies. We will be either arrested, or killed."

Zuko cast his uncle a scathing glare, managing to keep his voice level with evident effort. "We have no other choice. We obviously can't trust your knowledge of plants and herbs, and my efforts at finding us food have been... less than successful." The exiled prince spat out the last words as if they were poison. He had never been very graceful at handling defeat, and admitting to his failure at thriving - let alone surviving - in the wilderness was, well, embarrassing.

Iroh met his nephew's eyes, and Zuko knew that his uncles' resolve was weakening. He was hungry, too; although thankfully not desperate enough to try tasting some of the unknown plants they had passed during their travels. Finally he spoke, his eyes speaking words of caution to his often-brash nephew. "Well, it has been some time since I had a nice cup of ginseng tea..."

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"I don't understand. Omashu wasn't even under Fire Nation attack when we visited last time!" Aang sat beside Sokka, gazing emptily at a spot in front of his feet. Sokka exchanged worried glances with Katara. Neither of them were certain what they should do next.

"I have to find out what happened. I need to make sure that Bumi is alright." The sudden resolve that had found its way into Aang's voice startled the two siblings from their previous stupor, and Katara shifted her gaze towards her twelve-year old companion. Aang rose gracefully to his feet, turning to face both Katara and Sokka. "You two wait here; I'll go to Omashu and scout for information."

"Aang, are you crazy!" Sokka's loud exclamation startled Momo from his slumber on Katara's lap, and the lemur glared towards the Water Tribe boy with his large green eyes. "Omashu must be crawling with Fire Nation troops! There're probably wanted posters for you all over the place; it'd be way too risky for you to go!"

"Sokka, we need to find out what happened there. I was supposed to learn earthbending from King Bumi, but how can I do that if I don't even know if he's still..." Aang's eyes filled with tears as the realization that his friend might be dead hit him like a load of bricks. "...If he's still..."

Katara, who was now free of Momo, walked over and kneeled next to Aang, who had begun to cry. "Shh... Aang, it's okay. It'll be okay." Her blue eyes met the identical ones that belonged to her brother. "Aang is right, Sokka. Someone needs to go to Omashu to get some information. Maybe the earthbenders and King Bumi are still fighting..."

Aang glanced up hopefully, wiping the remaining tears from his eyes. Sokka inhaled deeply, then sighed, realizing that Katara was, of course, right. "I'll go, then."

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"Look, uncle! Smoke! That must mean that there is a village up ahead!" Zuko had a hard time keeping the anticipation out of his voice as his pace quickened forward. Smoke meant fire, which meant civilization, which meant food…

"Slow down, Zuko. We shouldn't just barge ahead without knowing our destination. After all, it could be-" Iroh paused, having finally caught up with his nephew. Zuko was gazing at the city before them with a look that spelled disappointment and hopelessness. All it took was to see the Fire Nation flag hanging on the wall of the great city for Iroh to understand the gravity of the situation. The city itself was unmistakably the earthbending stronghold of Omashu.

Iroh watched as a flood of emotions surged through his nephew's eyes, unsure as to whether or not to be apprehensive or pleased with the look of iron determination that finally settled on Zuko's features. It was a look that Iroh knew he could not hope to argue with. "Uncle, wait here and find a place to hide. I'll be back by nightfall with food and some supplies."

Pulling a dark brown cloak out of his bag, Zuko ensured that it lay so that it hid his unmistakable scar, hiding his features in layers of darkness. Catching his uncle's eye, Zuko sighed softly. "Uncle, we need food. I won't be long." With that, he turned on his heel, melting into the welcoming darkness of the surrounding trees.

Iroh's eyes followed his nephew as he made his way towards the city, and he could not help but call out after the banished prince: "And Zuko, don't forget the tea. Ginseng is my favorite."

_Be careful, Zuko._

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_So, what do you think? Good or bad? Regardless, I'll continue writing anyways. But I'd appreciate some feedback so I know what to work on. Oh, and don't worry. Zuko and Katara will definitely be meeting soon, and sparks_ will _fly... Literally…_


	2. Chapter two

_Yesss… twelve reviews! -Wipes a tear from her eye- (Can you tell this is the first time I've posted a fiction before? lol) Anyways, I was so happy to get some reviews from you guys! Here's chapter two; please enjoy and keep on writing reviews! _

_Disclaimer:_ Um, so yeah. I obviously don't own the show. Otherwise we'd all be watching this, as opposed to reading it.

_**Penetrating the Smokescreen**_

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Chapter two

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It didn't take Sokka long at all to gather together their meager supply of currency – consisting mainly of four copper pieces, a shiny pebble Momo had found, and a nut that looked suspiciously like a rock – and place a worn green cloak around his shoulders. It was too short and did a miserable job at disguising his overall glaringly blue appearance. Glancing down at his clothes, he sighed. They _screamed _Water Tribe.

"Well, I'll be back soon, I suppose. Before it gets too dark, anyways." Aang nodded, having noticeably calmed himself from his prior state of panic. He now sat on the ground beside Appa, demonstrating his evident return to his usual chipper mood when he pulled a handful of marbles from his shirt and used airbending to cause them to spin in an elliptical form.

Katara stepped into the clearing where they had set up a temporary camp, carrying a bag that was half-full of various berries and nuts that she had managed to scrounge up. She stopped to stare at her brother. "Isn't that… my cloak?"

Sokka wrapped his arms around himself defensively. "So what if it is? I need something to disguise what I'm wearing so I don't stand out so much. Somehow, I doubt Omashu gets many visitors from the Water Tribe."

Aang snickered, then ducked down as Sokka threw Momo's pebble right at the bald monk's head. The pebble rebounded harmlessly off of the trunk of a nearby tree, where Momo hastily retrieved the fallen projectile, chattering indignantly as his fierce eyes glared at Sokka for the second time that day.

With a last scowl, Sokka turned on his heel and stormed out of the small clearing, heading towards the line of nearby trees. It wasn't like it was _his _fault that the only cloak they had that wasn't blue belonged to Katara!

"Sokka, wait." He paused to turn around as his sister's familiar hand made contact with his shoulder, ready with a fuming retort in anticipation of another attack on his wardrobe selection. It never came. Instead of humor, Katara's blue eyes radiated a seriousness that immediately calmed Sokka's temper.

"Sokka, give me back my cloak. I'll go to Omashu instead." Sokka opened his mouth to protest, but Katara cut through his words, speaking softly so as not to alert the still close-by Aang to their conversation. "We need to get supplies, too. It could be dangerous, and I'll definitely attract less attention than you will." Her last comment was directed towards his pathetic disguise, but as Sokka's attention was now focused on different matters, he missed the insult.

"Look, I know you're better at shopping than me, Katara, but there's no way I'll send you into Omashu on your own. It's like you said: it'll be far too dangerous."

"But that's exactly why I'm going instead, Sokka. Look, I know you can handle yourself, but we're talking about the Fire Nation here! And who better to handle some firebenders than a waterbender like myself?" Katara knew her last argument had gotten through to her teenage sibling when he broke eye contact with her and began to stare intently at the ground. "Don't worry about me, Sokka. We both know that I can take care of myself."

She was still shocked, however, when instead of blurting out more reasons why she shouldn't leave, Sokka resignedly took off the cloak, handing it to her along with the bag containing their money. Her questioning gaze caught his own as he finally looked up. She could sense the apprehension in his eyes regarding his decision to let her go instead of himself, but he knew as well as she that the decision was, once again, the right one.

"Just remember to be careful, Katara. The Fire Nation will be keeping a really close eye out for anything suspicious. If you sense any danger, make sure you get out of there, and fast."

Katara grinned, pulling her brother into a hug, which he grudgingly acquiesced to. "Thanks, Sokka. I'll be back before you know it. And besides, I'm just a Water Tribe peasant. There's no way the Fire Nation would be looking out for someone like me."

Sokka watched as Katara made her way quickly towards the nearby city, his heart filled with a lingering sense of uneasiness. When he finally lost sight of her, he sighed, heading back towards their camp, preparing the words in his head to let Aang know that it would be Katara, not him, that was walking headfirst into the Fire Nation controlled city of Omashu.

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Zuko unconsciously pulled his hood closer to his face as he approached the entrance gates to the city of Omashu. He had waited for some twenty odd minutes, hidden in the shadows of nearby trees as he watched travelers and Fire Nation patrols entering and departing the fortified city. When he caught sight of a relatively larger group of travelers, he breathed a sigh of relief. There were enough of them that he could lose himself in their numbers, and avoid the prying eyes of the Fire Nation soldiers that were questioning all foreigners to the city.

Stepping out of the trees, he placed himself where he would be visible to them once they turned the bend and came into sight, rehearsing his hurried speech in his mind. Hailing them, he walked over towards an older gentleman who appeared to be the small group's leader, revealing just enough of his facial features to offer a smile that he ensured looked somewhat lost and uncertain. Straining to make his voice sound younger andpitiful, he held out a hand to the older man.

"Hello there, my name is Lee. I was wondering if you might be able to help me out. You see, I'm supposed to visit my uncle, in Omashu. But I am by myself, and well…" Zuko trailed off, deliberately breaking eye contact with the man as he attempted to make himself look as pitiable as possible. Inwardly, he fiercely resisted the urge to grind his teeth.

The elderly chap grinned warmly, placing a work-worn hand on Zuko's slumped shoulder. "I understand, m'boy. Those Fire Nation troops _are_ a bit intimidating, aren't they? Why don't you come along with us? I've handled their interrogations before, and I know what they expect to be said." The man winked kindly, and Zuko put an immense amount of effort into making his visible features light up with mock glee. Without waiting for a response from the teenager, the man glanced back and gestured towards his companions. "Well, let's be off, then. We need to get this merchandise into the city. With the recent influx of Fire Nation troops, our sales have skyrocketed." Zuko fell into line with the group of merchants, noting that they carried a variety of wares, including – much to his stomach's pleasure - food.

Zuko's abdomen grumbled impatiently, and he ignored the signals his tired and starved body was sending him as he forced himself forward. Soon enough, he and his uncle would be enjoying some much-needed nourishment. Zuko just needed to make it inside the city walls…

The two men in charge of regulating the flow of traffic through the main gates were obviously having a terrible day. They glared at the group of merchants as the elderly man made his way forward, and Zuko ducked his head down, relieved to see he wasn't the only one intent on hiding himself from the gaze of the firebenders as several others also began to stare intently at the ground. The merchant spent several minutes talking to the irritated guards, and all the while Zuko was attempting to attract as little notice as possible, his entire body screaming at him to run. The gates were open, they were so _close…_

Zuko disguised his sigh of relief as the guards finally waved the group through, glaring at the peasants as they began to quickly shuffle their way past. Just as Zuko was about to walk through the gates, however, one of the guards called out, and the banished prince froze, his blood seeming to actually stop its movement through his body as he drew in a shaky breath.

The guards' tone was commanding as he addressed Zuko. "You there – with the hood. You don't look like a merchant. What is your business in Omashu?"

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Katara breathed a sigh of relief as she squeezed her way past several people and stepped through Omashu's main gates, taking in a deep breath as she attempted to calm her shaken nerves. She had been trailing behind a group of travelers, merchants she assumed, attempting to invent a reason to get into the city, when one of the guards had hailed a man who had been walking in front of her, calling all attention to him and allowing Katara to slip past the milling bystanders and into the relative safety of the city walls. She momentarily felt sympathy for the poor fellow, but dismissed the lingering emotion as she quickly made her way deeper into the city.

Something was definitely different about the city her second time visiting. And it wasn't just the signs of a recent battle that created these feelings in the waterbender. It was the atmosphere of defeat that hung over the villagers, and the unwelcome and condescending way Fire Nation patrols marched their way through the city. The mail chutes that had once been buzzing with activity now lay silent; there were no longer any earthbenders there to regulate the flow of mail and parcels.

Shrugging off her feelings of vague discomfort, Katara headed towards one of the market districts in the city, deciding to get supplies first before trying to seek out any information.

As she made her way towards the stall of one shop, Katara ensured once again that her telltale blue clothes were hidden underneath her cloak. However, her dark skin and blue eyes still made her stand out, and Katara made a note to herself to get through all of this and head back to camp as quickly as humanly possible.

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Taking in another shaky breath, Zuko shook hands one last time with the merchant, who had once again helped him out of the difficult situation with the guards. The older man grinned, smiling. "Hey, no problem. Just make sure you get to your uncle quickly, okay? No dawdling." Zuko nodded and parted ways with the man, taking a moment to gather his surroundings before heading off towards a nearby stall containing fresh fruits and vegetables. The scents of food were making his mouth water, and Zuko had to summon a great deal of self-control to not simply grab the nearest edible item and dig right in.

He was about to hand the shopkeeper several copper coins to pay for his selected purchase when his shoulder tensed as a firm, heavy hand settled on the teenager's shoulder. A gruff voice spoke out behind him, and Zuko's amber eyes quickly darted to his side, noting with a curse that there were several Fire Nation troops standing around him, their hands glowing lightly with their element.

_Foolish! Allowing your hunger to interfere with your awareness of your surroundings! _Zuko mentally berated himself, his mind racing as he tried to come up with a way to escape this situation. After all, perhaps the reason they had apprehended him had nothing to do with his status as a fugitive at all.

These hopes were abruptly dashed, however, with the firebender's next words.

"You, Zuko, banished prince of the Fire Nation, are to be placed under arrest by orders of the imperial princess Azula. Resistance is futile." _How did they find out? I was certain that I had kept my face hidden… _"The guards at the front gate were suspicious, but did not come to realize your identity until after you had passed through the gates. Now, hands where I can see them. I will escort you to the palace where we will keep you imprisoned until you can be handed over to the Princess."

His mind was racing so fast that his body almost couldn't keep up. Zuko felt his breathing become shallow. Being captured by Azula was not an option. Such a failure could never be an option. Zuko turned around slowly, holding out his hands innocently before him. _Fire comes from the breath…_

Quicker than his prior defeated movements could have allowed them to anticipate, Zuko leapt forward, kneeing the guard that stood closest to him hard in the stomach, while lashing out at the two that blocked his escape route with flames from his outspread hands. They both fell back from the heat of the blaze, but as Zuko made to leap over them, he belatedly caught signs of movement from the corner of his eye.

There was one more. One of the firebender's reflexes was unfortunately quicker than those of his fallen comrades, and as he was pushed down to the ground from Zuko's attack, he managed to roll forward, summoning a single shot of flames from one of his hands, sending the flaming projectile towards the banished prince, who was in the midst of his leap over the unconscious forms of the two soldiers he had downed.

Zuko felt the flames before he saw them. They ate hungrily through the fabric of his cloak, and he hissed painfully as he felt them make contact with his side. Dispersing the flames with one hand, the exiled prince swung a downward kick towards his final opponent, knocking him unconscious as he landed hard, swerving to catch his balance. Wincing as one hand gripped his wounded side, Zuko fled the scene, heading towards the front gates of the city. Escape was his only chance. He had to make it in time, before more guards arrived…

His hood fell back as he accelerated forward, but Zuko recognized that at this point, it didn't really matter if his scar was visible or not. They knew he was here. And it would only bea matter of moments before a full pursuit was undertaken.

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Katara smiled as she felt the bulging fabric of the bag which contained an ample amount of supplies for their journey. She had definitely gotten their money's worth, although she _had _been forced to flirt a little bit with a merchant to get a good deal. _Well, beggars can't be choosers, Katara… _

Now, for the more challenging part of her trip: information gathering. Katara had been silently dreading this moment, because she knew how easy it would be to draw unwanted attention to herself. But she had no choice. Aang _had _to learn earthbending. There was simply no other way. Deciding to check a nearby bulletin board for news first before attempting to draw information out of the resigned citizens of Omashu, Katara paused as she eyed a respectably large list of wanted posters. Beginning from the top of the board, there was a large poster of Aang. No surprises there. Then, a strange picture of a man in a blue mask. _Creepy… _And next…

Katara's eyes widened as she came across the pictures of two men she knew very well. Well, more specifically, one man and one teenager. It was Zuko and the elderly man that seemed to follow the young prince everywhere he went. Katara's brow furrowed as her thoughts moved to the past. She had a hunch that he was Zuko's uncle… although his disposition definitely seemed different than that of the temperamental and capricious prince. A wry smile made its way to Katara's lips as her gaze continued to move down the array of posters. Where it abruptly stopped short.

Beneath the wanted posters of the banished prince and his exiled uncle was one that was unmistakably an accurate representation of… herself.

_Me! Why on earth is my picture posted on the Fire Nations 'wanted' ads? What could I have possibly done to draw their attention to me? _Of course, at this moment, Katara's common sense finally kicked in. If the Fire Nation knew what Aang looked like and that he was the Avatar, it would obviously only be a matter of time until they realized that two Water Tribe teenagers that traveled with the Avatar were close companions of his; therefore enemies of the Fire Nation by association. And, of course, below the picture of Katara was an equally unmistakable picture of her brother, Sokka.

_Time to leave… _Although she regretted not being able to gather more information on the state of King Bumi, Katara knew that she had already risked enough walking through the city markets with her head uncovered. It was actually kind of surprising that a Fire Nation soldier hadn't apprehended her yet…

As if on cue, a nearby shout caused the waterbender's head to whip around, her crystalline blue eyes counting at least five Fire Nation soldiers making their way hastily towards her. _Crap._

Turning on her heels, Katara fled back the way she came, winding her way through the vast throngs of people. She could acutely feel the adrenaline begin to course its way through her veins as she weaved through street after street, cursing the fact that she had wandered so far from the entrance of the city. Hearing boots thumping heavily behind her, Katara risked a look back to see how close her pursuers were.

Bad idea. Katara ran straight into the chest of a lone soldier, who looked almost as surprised as she. The waterbender's reflexes were much faster than his, however, and in the blink of an eye, a stream of water withdrew itself from her canteen and sent the soldier sprawling backwards, the man letting out a surprised yelp as he collided with two of his comrades.

"After her! She's the Avatar's companion!" Her panting breath rang loudly in her ears as Katara sprinted forward, her features spelling with relief as she caught sight of the archway that lead to the exit of the city: her salvation. Fueling energy into her exhausted muscles, the Water Tribe girl pushed herself forward, focusing on the exit and the exit only.

_Almost there almost there almost there almost there almost there… _

Katara didn't see the figure in front her until it was far too late. Letting out a startled yelp, she ran headfirst into the stranger's side, knocking the two over with her momentum. Gasping for breath as the wind was knocked out of her lungs, Katara found herself suddenly laying in an unceremonious heap on the ground, the stranger she had collided with panting for breath underneath her.

Her panic faded somewhat as she realized that the man (for she had seen his short hair and immediately made the assumption about his masculine gender), was not attacking her. Obviously not a Fire Nation soldier. Shouts from behind her – and from the direction he had come from, as well – filled her ears, and fear threatened to close the air passages in her throat. She had to hurry.

Fumbling to rise, she made to continue her flight when an angrily mumbled set of words reached her ears, causing her to freeze where she was, half-standing, half-crouched.

"…Stupid peasant, watch where you're going, you fool…"

Swinging her sapphire gaze back to re-evaluate the stranger, her suspicions were instantly confirmed. "…Z…Zuko?"

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_Haha, so, um, that one was kind of long. (3225 words!) Whoops. -looks innocent- But the stage is finally set! Now we can get some action! Yay! Thanks again for all of the reviews; I'm pretty obsessed at this point so expect more updates soon! Please keep reading, I promise there will be some Zuko x Katara interaction soon!_


	3. Chapter three

_All right! Chapter 3! Thanks for all the awesome reviews guys! I really appreciate them! (I especially enjoy the random piece of information from shadow-n-the-dark) Thanks for letting me know what a Mary Sue is too! I'll make sure to try and avoid it at all costs. --grins--_

_To Rashaka: Your pet peeve may be too many adjectives, but I personally don't like reading fictions that I find over-simplified. And besides, I **like** adjectives. --grins maniacally-- But getting back to the point, I do appreciate the criticism. It's just that – believe it or not – this is actually the way I write. I'm the weirdo who when we read those books where the author takes three pages describing an object or place or event, is actually enjoying herself! So if you still want to read my fiction, you'll just have to grit your teeth and bear with it…(please read it anyways!)_

_Now, on with the show. Please enjoy the third chapter of_ Penetrating the Smokescreen!

_Disclaimer:_ Well, I think we've established already that I don't own the show.

_**Penetrating the Smokescreen**_

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Chapter three

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Sokka and Aang sat together with their backs leaning against Appa's mammoth side. For several minutes now, the only audible sound had been that of the giant bison's deep and regular inhaling and exhaling. Nearby, Momo lay curled in a little ball, sleeping. Occasionally the lemur would twitch and grasp out in his sleep, straining to reach the imaginary food that seemed to forever evade his attempts at successfully obtaining.

Aang glanced up, taking a moment to watch the slanting rays of sunlight sift through the rustling leaves of the trees, creating a pattern of shadow and light patches on the grass near his feet. He recognized by the way the shimmering rays were bent that the sun was already beginning its descent from its climax high in the sky. It would be twilight in about an hour or two.

"She's still not back yet." Sokka's statement was uttered dishearteningly, as he reached forward to hug his knees. "I knew I should've gone instead of her."

"Sokka, I'm sure Katara's fine! She's more than capable of handling herself!" Aang's attempt at cheering Sokka up failed terribly, despite the fact that the airbender's exuberance was actually very genuine. He knew that if Katara had promised to be back before nightfall, she would be. "I wonder if she's found out what happened to Bumi yet."

Sokka glared at Aang, whose innocent smoky-eyed gaze grinned naïvely straight back at him. The young warrior was desperately attempting to prepare a witty retort to combat the sunny disposition of the Avatar when his attention was abruptly re-directed.

"Did you hear that?" Sokka hissed, lowering his voice. He could have sworn that he had heard the sound of a twig snapping nearby…

Aang immediately cocked his head to the side, trying to track down the source of the sound that Sokka claimed to have heard. "I don't hear anything! Think it might be Katara?" The bald-headed monk immediately leapt to his feet in excitement.

Grabbing the Avatar by the arm, the Water Tribe boy rushed to his feet, glancing around suspiciously. The two stood immobilized that way for several moments, both of them straining to hear _something_ that might indicate potential danger. Appa had visibly stiffened beside them, sensing their jittery behavior and reacting to it.

Sokka finally let out his breath, glancing back towards Aang. "Well, I guess it must have been a squirrel or some-"

Sokka was never given the chance to finish verbalizing his thought.

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Zuko's head was throbbing. His side was throbbing. And he was still hungry. Things were definitely _not _going according to plan.

He hadn't seen the girl come flying at him from the side until she was practically on top of him. He had barely had time to shield his fall with his arms before the peasant fell right on top of him, letting out a surprised outcry as she did so. He definitely hadn't had time to shield his head.

Thus the excruciating throbbing in his temples.

She rolled off him immediately, and when she realized he was no Fire Nation soldier, made to continue her flight. The words that slipped out of his mouth did so without any forethought on his part.

"…Stupid peasant, watch where you're going, you fool…"

As soon as the words left his lips, she halted where she was, her posture frozen for what seemed like an eternity before her gaze swung back to meet his. Meeting her large blue eyes, he recognized her immediately as one of the Avatar's two peasant companions. Her mouth opened and closed once before she managed to stumblingly word her thoughts. Or rather, her single foremost thought.

"…Z…Zuko?"

The thus-named ex-prince sat up irritably, debating momentarily as to whether he should grasp his side or his head first as both seemed to instantaneously explode with a searing flash of intense pain. Gritting his teeth and deciding to bear it (like he'd display his weakness to a water tribe peasant anyways!), his glaring amber gaze swung back to meet her own.

"Don't act so surprised! What kind of a bumbling fool would run head-first into another person anyways?"

She withdrew slightly, her clear eyes sparkling immediately with anger at his stinging insult. "Don't blame it on me! You were the one who ran out in front of me! Maybe you should have watched where you were going before stumbling into a crowded walkway!" Zuko was surprised to see that the girl evenly met his eyes, displaying no fear in her twin orbs.

Shrugging, he rose to his feet, closing his eyes briefly against the pain and an almost overwhelming sense of nausea before turning to glance down at the waterbender, who was rising rapidly to meet him. His lips twitched slightly with a trace of a smirk as he realized that he stood taller than she, forcing _her _to look up to _him_.

The waterbender shrugged off-handedly. "Whatever. We both know I could easily beat you in a fight if I wanted to. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at your lack of control." Her voice was smug as it reached him, although he could still sense the anger in her that had sparked her words.

He fell prey to her bait as predictably as she had expected he would. "Do you want a rematch, _peasant_? I believe we are both aware of the fact that the only reason why you managed to _briefly_ win last time was because you had to draw your strength from the moon. If you were to battle me now, you obviously wouldn't stand a chance." Ignoring the deceit in his final statement, Zuko glared fiercely at the waterbender, refusing to allow his features to betray any signs of his currently weak condition.

She stood so close to him that they were only several inches apart, and she seemed so infuriated that the firebender imagined he could almost visualize small plumes of smoke rising from her smaller figure. "_Excuse me?_ The only reason why you managed to knock me out was because _you _took a cheap shot when by back was turned!"

His gaze snapping with fury, the firebender could feel his muscles tensing as he fought the urge to grab the girl and shake her violently. She still refused to back down, maintaining her aggressive stance despite his menacing snarl. "Even a fool would know better than to turn their back on an enemy!"

Thrusting her fists forcefully to her side, Katara's blue eyes snapped with a ferocity that was unusual for her generally easy-going attitude. "I can't believe you! I don't care what Aang says, we should have left you out there to freeze in the North Pole; you rotten, conceited, bigot-"

A cough resounded echoingly from behind the two, and as one they spun around, their raised voices ringing out in vehement unison towards the source of the interruption. "_WHAT!_"

A line of at least fifteen firebenders stood before them, the one who had coughed standing at their forefront. Despite the masks that covered their faces, their overall attitude seemed to exude an atmosphere that was very close to mocking humor towards the bickering duo.

The argument, naturally, was immediately suspended as the two teenagers recalled the reason _why_ they had been fleeing at such a frenzied pace before the collision had halted their progress. Casting a glare to the firebender at her side, Katara hissed an accusation towards the exiled prince. "This is all _your_ fault, idiot! I would have been long gone if it weren't for your interference!"

Zuko raised a single eyebrow towards the younger girl, his voice still containing remnants of hostility. "_My_ fault? Weren't _you_ the one who ran into _me_?"

"Put your hands out where we can see them; and don't even think about trying anything! The two of you wouldn't stand a chance against all of us!"

Zuko glanced sideways towards the waterbender beside him, his thoughts spinning fast. He could feel the energy slowly draining from his limbs, a result of having gone for far too long without food, added alongside his two injuries. He definitely couldn't take them all down on his own, not in his current condition…

------

"Ah! If I am not mistaken, this is a white dragon bush! The tea that can be made from this bush is positively orgasmic!" The retired general Iroh was crouched down beside a green bush, staring intently at the single white flower protruding from it. "That, or it is the white jade bush. Very poisonous…"

The older man's voice trailed off as he gazed at the flower in silence for a moment, vaguely recalling having faced a similar decision in the not-so distant past. Almost instinctively, he reached back to scratch his side, reliving the infuriating itch that had accompanied the poison's rash.

His amber gaze returned to fasten itself back on its prey, as Iroh offhandedly wondered what the chances were of him being wrong twice.

"Delicious tea… or painful death by poison…"

------

Katara fiercely berated herself for having let her emotions take control over her common sense. What kind of an idiot would forget about a group of angry firebenders chasing after them? She spared Zuko a scathing glance, obviously still placing him in a position of complete culpability for the mess of a situation they were now in.

_Jerk. _

Even as these thoughts raced through her mind, however, Katara was taking close note of her surroundings. She needed to find a source of water, something with more substance than what she had in her canteen…

_There_. Katara felt rather than saw the well that was situated to her right, between herself and the line of firebenders. The firebenders that stood in between her and her escape. Slipping back almost unconsciously into a waterbending stance, Katara slowly manipulated the water upwards from its naturally dormant state, halting the flow of liquid near the rim of the stone well. She had been careful to keep her movements miniscule, and the group of firebenders didn't seem to have noticed anything suspicious yet.

Zuko, on the other hand, was far more perceptive than she had initially given him credit for. Although he moved his hands forward, palms facing outwards passively, she could feel his piercing gaze resting on her and knew immediately that he had understood her actions.

It was at this point that the exiled prince did something quite unexpected. Sidling slightly closer to her, he spoke in a low voice that still managed to contain poorly camouflaged traces of his usual arrogant tone. "I've got the eight on our left. The rest I leave to you…try not to screw anything up."

Katara scowled, figuring the math in her head and realizing that left her seven firebenders to contend with. Certainly a difficult task for her, but she still didn't fail to recognize that he had assigned her one less firebender than he.

Ignoring this nagging thought, the water tribe girl simply nodded, as one of the Fire Nation soldiers took an impatient step forward.

"Did you not hear me, child? I said hands out in front of you! Or do you require me to use force?" Taking another menacing step towards her, He reached forward to grab Katara's arms.

Zuko's hand shot forward almost faster than Katara's eyes could follow, grabbing the wrist of the Fire Nation soldier in mid-reach. It was all the encouragement she needed.

Channeling a stream of the water that she had held stationary in the well, Katara formed two separate threads of water. Pushing them forward with her hands, she managed to form two simultaneous water whips, taking down the two unfortunate soldiers who stood closest to the well before they had a chance to defend themselves. Katara's peripheral vision picked up the sight of a blur advancing quickly away from her towards the left, obviously Zuko. The Fire Nation soldier he had grabbed by the wrist was lying on his back on the ground, moaning.

Focusing now on her own battle, the waterbender realized almost too late that her remaining five soldiers had begun their retaliation, two of them sprinting forward to send a blast of fire her way. Bending the water that remained from her previous attack, Katara formed a barricade in front of her, which transformed into hissing steam when it made contact with the flames. Drawing forward an increased amount of her element from the well, Katara bent it towards the closely-knit group, forcing the liquid upwards and then bringing it down again with a resounding crash.

Grinning with satisfaction, Katara was pleased to see that she had managed to get three more Fire Nation soldiers with the impressive attack, and spun about to track down her remaining two opponents.

The waterbender yelled out in brief surprise as one of the soldiers lunged at her from the side, and she barely managed to defend herself by freezing the water at his feet, effectively immobilizing him. Still having free control over his hands, however, the firebender summoned a greater burst of fire, forcing Katara to drop to the ground in order to avoid being smothered by the flames. An outcry from behind alerted her to the presence of yet another firebender behind her. Katara felt a brief pang of pity for the man as she realized that he must have gotten caught up in his comrade's attack.

Pushing herself hurriedly to her feet, she swung her arms to her side, coating the soldier who had initiated the attack in water. Katara then proceeded to freeze it around his body, effectively halting any movement on his part, though still taking care to ensure that the ice was thin enough so as to not deal the man any permanent or deadly damage. Spinning around to face her last opponent, she found him already downed, gripping his blistering arms while uttering low moans of pain.

Hearing a shout from behind her, Katara glanced back in time to see Zuko shoot an impressive flame at one of his enemies, downing the last man standing. The young man stood for a moment, his breath coming in pants while he appraised the damage around him. Meeting Katara's eyes, she was surprised to see a tiny spark of relief take life in them. In the blink of an eye, however, the unfamiliar emotion was gone, leaving the waterbender wondering if it may have even ever existed.

"What are you staring at, peasant? In case you haven't the mental capacities to figure it out, there will be many more following. We need to get out of this city, now." Zuko strode purposefully forward towards the exit, motioning for her to follow.

Glaring at the ex-prince as he approached her, her gaze shifted quickly from anger to surprise as she caught sight of a downed firebender in whose open palm a small flame was quickly growing. "Look out!"

Pushing Zuko aside, Katara quickly summoned enough water to shield the prince from the potentially deadly attack, condensing the resulting steam back to water again and then freezing it around the Fire Nation soldier before he could attack them again.

Making visual contact with Zuko's shocked eyes, she spun on her heel. "Well, are you just going to stand here watching the scenery all day, or can we get moving?"

Muttering under his breath, the prince followed Katara's lead, quickly accelerating to match her hurried pace. Not too far ahead of them, the two finally caught sight of the main gates leading to the entrance of Omashu, and their freedom from the Fire Nation infested city.

Unconsciously increasing the velocity of her pace, Katara glanced to her side, noting that Zuko had also lengthened his pace to match hers. Although she was still breathing hard from the recent battle, she noted with curiosity and some surprise that the exiled prince seemed to be quite out of breath. Every once in a while he would stumble slightly, although he recovered so quickly that Katara would have believed it to be a figure of her imagination were it not also for the lines of exhaustion etched in the young man's features.

"There should still be two more guards at the gate, but once we take care of them we should be safe. Until they send out search parties to find us, that is." Zuko's words were spoken in such a matter-of-fact tone that Katara shot him an irritated glance. _Damn know-it-all…_

"Look, I just want to get out of here. Will you hurry up?" Katara broke into a jog as she realized that they were now coming upon the main gates they had both initially entered through. She was surprised when she noticed the pinkish hue that coloured the sky, shocked at having completely lost track of time. It wouldn't be long until it was twilight.

Katara wondered worryingly if she would be able to make it back to the camp before the promised time. If it got too dark, she didn't want to be stumbling blindly through the forest searching for their campsite, and she might therefore be forced to take cover overnight and wait for dawn. The thought of spending the night alone in the dark was needless to say not too thrilling for her, and Katara broke into a sprint. She longed to be free of the confines of this city, and of the pursuit from the Fire Nation…

She wasn't aware of Zuko's close pursuit of her until he grabbed her roughly by the shoulder, yanking her backwards until her back bumped into his chest. Choosing not to acknowledge the look of pain that briefly crossed his features from their contact, she made to protest the action when the sound of a roaring flame drew her attention to the spot she had been until just recently occupying. The area was sporting an impressive scorch mark, and smoke still rose from the singed earth.

The source of the attack stood on the earthen-made bridge, blocking their escape. Katara immediately recognized the uniform as belonging to the Fire Nation, but the stranger was obviously an officer or of very high rank. Katara felt Zuko draw a sharp intake of breath beside her, and she glanced over to meet his widened amber eyes, finding their attention fastened on the Fire Nation officer standing before them.

Glancing back to re-evaluate the stranger, Katara noticed immediately that the stranger's eyes were very similar to Zuko's. The eyes that gazed towards them differentiated themselves from Zuko's, however, as their vague disinterest seemed to hold no signs of any sort of human compassion. Katara noted that Zuko's stance had stiffened considerably from before, his features settling into a fierce and determined glare.

"Get out of our way. Now." His tone was commanding, angered, and intimidating. He stood so stiffly that Katara imagined he could snap at any moment. But the stranger who stood before them didn't seem to be phased in the least. In fact, the firebender's features molded themselves into an arrogantly amused smirk as the officer eyed the two of them with something not dissimilar to an attitude of aloof disinterest.

The firebender's distinctly feminine voice rang out clearly, her arrogant smirk widening into a deceptive smile. "Come now, Zuzu. Is this any way to be treating your beloved sister?"

------

_Ah, the unbearable suspense! Will Katara and Zuko ever make it out of Omashu alive? What happened to Aang and Sokka? And most importantly, will Iroh make the same disastrous mistake twice? Stay tuned to discover the answers to these burning questions and more in the next chapter!_

_Lol, hope you guys liked it. Definitely no 'love at first sight' in this fic! Please review, and expect another update in the very near future! Oh, and by the way, just for future reference: is Azula older or younger than Zuko?_


	4. Chapter four

_Yesss… chapter four! Lol, anyways, I want to thank everyone again for all of the reviews; even if I don't have time to reply to them I definitely enjoy reading (and re-reading) them all! Thanks again for confirming Azula's age for me: we now know that she is one year younger than Zuko! (woot woot!) _

_Disclaimer:_ Someone very important, wealthy, and evidently not a member of the Zutara fan club owns the rights to Avatar: The Last Airbender. Yeah, it's not me… shocking, I know.

_**Penetrating the Smokescreen**_

------

Chapter four

------

_Zuko has a sister?_

Katara blinked, gazing almost dumbly at the firebender who stood blocking their path. The said female's cold amber gaze was fastened onto the form of her brother, who stood so stiffly that as Katara's regard returned to fasten itself on him, she thought she could almost see the muscles in his jaw twitch.

"Don't call me that!" Zuko spat fiercely, small plumes of smoke accompanying his loudly exhaled breath.

The female firebender stood casually, one hand on her hip while the other brushed back a strand of her charcoal black hair. The smirk still lingered on her lips as she spoke again, her voice dripping with honeyed venom. "Well, this most certainly is my lucky day. Two fugitives in one day. Father will definitely be pleased." As the princess threw back her head to let out a low laugh, Katara wondered vaguely if the princess was referring to her.

The firebender's attention returned to Zuko once again, and Katara realized with some frustration that she hadn't appeared to have even noticed the waterbender yet. _Well, she's obviously _not_ talking about me, then. _

"I refuse to give you the satisfaction of capturing me, Azula! I'll warn you for the last time: get out of our way." Zuko's amber eyes were snapping with a fury that was very different than the one he had portrayed to Katara when they had fought previously. Something dark and almost sinister burned within those hazel pools, and the waterbender restrained a shiver.

Katara then glanced back curiously to watch Zuko's sister's reaction to the threat. There was none.

This _is Zuko's sister?_

It didn't take a fool to see that there was no connection between the two siblings, no signs of affection. Part of what Azula had said finally sunk into Katara, and her cerulean eyes widened slightly as the realization struck her. Azula was hunting down her brother… for the Fire Lord?

Azula's sneer widened slightly as she gazed haughtily at her younger brother, none of his passion or fury reflecting in her hazel eyes. Juxtaposed to her brother, Azula was simply… cold.

"Don't try and play tough with me, Zuko. We are both aware of the painfully indisputable fact that my bending skills are far superior than yours will ever be." Her last statement appeared to have struck a nerve, as Zuko's look darkened even more… if that was even possible.

With a chuckle, the princess continued to taunt her older brother, clearly enjoying her advantage over him. "You couldn't have possibly believed that you could actually escape me, could you have, _Zuzu_? You've always been an embarrassment as far as our Father is concerned, succeeding only in further marring the honor of our family. How could you have possibly deluded yourself into believing that after _two years_ of exile that Father might actually welcome you back, even with the Avatar in hand?" Azula snorted, her eyes snapping with pleasure as she noted the effect her words were having on the now-trembling ex-prince. "What a fool."

Katara's glance was concerned as it swung from one firebender to the other. It was unusual from what she knew of Zuko that he was not counterattacking. As a matter of fact, he seemed to actually be letting her words seriously make an impact on him. His eyes had closed, and his stance was almost… defeated.

The waterbender wondered briefly if it all might just be a ploy, if Zuko was at this very moment hatching a plot to get them out of this situation. With one last look at the exiled prince, she came to the disheartening conclusion that he wasn't.

"Zuko?" She whispered his name softly, but as it seemed to have no affect on him, she reached forward to lightly touch his arm. "Hey! Get a hold of yourself, you idiot! What do you think you're doing?" Katara had initially intended to keep her whisper soft and kind, but she ended up hissing the last couple of words rather unkindly.

The said firebender's head was still remained bowed slightly, but his eyes immediately snapped open and locked onto her, a familiar glare taking residence in his features. He seemed to have noticed her presence for the first time since the fire princess had spoken, and Katara was relieved to see that he seemed to have returned to himself. Somewhat.

Assuming victory from her brother's silence, Azula placed both hands on her hips, standing confidently and dominatingly before him. She knew her brother was broken; she had seen evidence of it in his eyes. No matter how stubborn he could be, even Zuko recognized defeat when he saw it.

Or so Azula thought.

"Come on now. Prison won't be _that _terrible. Besides, you'll soon have your fool of an uncle to keep you company. Why even bother trying to fight me? We both know you wouldn't stand a chance." The fire mistress took a single step forward, illustrating that she was rapidly tiring of this game. Much as torturing her brother was delightful, it wasn't as much fun when he didn't fight back. And besides, she had other things on her agenda to do today.

As Azula took a single step forward, Zuko caught Katara's attention, whispering hurriedly. "I'll create a distraction. As soon as she's occupied, get out of here. Go get your Avatar friend, and then flee as far away from here as you can. Azula hunts the Avatar as voraciously as she does me, and she'll be hot on your trail."

The waterbender opened her mouth to protest, and Zuko shot her a scathing glare. "You'd only get in my way, peasant. Try not to trip over your own feet and get out of here. You've brought me nothing but trouble anyways."

Stung, Katara pulled back slightly, her sapphire eyes snapping as her anger was immediately provoked. _What a jerk! _Whenever it seemed like she started to consider that the arrogant firebender had _any_ admirable qualities in him whatsoever, he made sure to convince her that he most certainly did not.

Gritting her teeth and tearing her frustrated gaze away from the scarred one beside her, Katara tensed slightly as Azula made her way slowly and confidently towards them. She waited for her cue from Zuko with anticipation, feeling her pulse racing crazily in tune with the erratic beating of her heart. Her shallow, rasping breaths sounded loudly in her ears, and she was acutely aware of the exiled prince crouched close beside her, his own body tense and coiled like that of a snake before it struck.

It was at this instant, just as the fire princess stepped within reach, that Zuko shot forward. Instead of attacking with his bending, as one would naturally expect, he lunged directly at Azula's chest, taking her down as she let out a shout of surprise.

Katara didn't waste a second. She fled as quickly as her legs could carry her slender body, and didn't spare a single glance back.

------

An hour later, Iroh still squatted next to the tantalizing bush. His amber gaze was furrowed thoughtfully as he continued the inward debate.

_Zuko would certainly not be very pleased with me either way… _The thought of his nephew retrieved the retired general from his thoughts as he frowned slightly, noting that the sky was now a vivid coloration of pinks, oranges and reds. He found that he could not restrain the unpleasant thought that maybe something had gone terribly wrong, that Zuko was in some sort of trouble…

The young firebender did, after all, have a bad habit of reacting out of emotion instead of taking the time to properly think his actions through.

A small smile graced the lips of the retired general as his thoughts shifted their focus to Zuko's hotheaded nature. He was still so young, after all. Far too young to have faced the number of trials he had been forced to overcome. He was, despite his father's cruel words, honorable in every way. Although Iroh had not spoken a word of it, he had noticed how Zuko had rationed their food so that Iroh received larger portions, and the day their food had finally run out, Zuko had stubbornly insisted he was not hungry, refusing to eat so as to allow his uncle more.

Glancing up towards the slowly darkening sky, Iroh spoke a brief prayer for his nephew's safety. His amber gaze returning back to the ground, they lighted back on the untouched bush.

"…Hmm…"

------

_One. Two. Three! _Zuko had silently waited for the perfect moment to pounce, knowing full well that his only brief advantage against Azula would be surprise.

He heard his sister's unexpected yelp as he made contact with her, sending both of them sprawling to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko caught flashes of a brown cloak and the waterbender's blue clothing, feeling a ridiculous rush of pleasure at having denied his sister the satisfaction of capturing both of them at once. This thought was, naturally, abruptly interrupted by his non-too-pleased younger sibling.

He let out a gasp as Azula's knee made unkindly contact with his chest, knocking the wind from his lungs and sending him rolling off her. Rising quickly to his feet, the young firebender hissed in pain as the burn on his side fiercely protested the motion. The throbbing in his temples matched that of his heartbeat, and he was acutely aware of the fact that his chances at winning this battle were basically moot.

Dodging a retaliating flame that glanced his left side, Zuko cursed his sluggish movements as he felt the heat of the flames even through his clothing. Throwing back his fists, he manipulated the two flames in his palms into twin daggers, sprinting forward to thrust violently at his opponent.

Her movements were fluid, mocking. As she dodged one of his thrusts, she raised an eyebrow towards him. "Zuko, I'm disappointed. This is sloppy, even for you."

As he threw another punch, she back-stepped effortlessly, grabbing his wrist in the same smooth motion. Her nails dug painfully into his flesh, her eyes widening slightly with elation at his resulting sharp intake of breath. Bringing her second fist into an upward hook, she caught him hard in the stomach, sending the breath fleeing from his lungs for the second time in less than a minute.

Zuko gritted his teeth as his knees suddenly buckled, refusing to hold his weight. His raised eyes met those of his triumphant sister. "You see, dear brother, resisting me brings nothing but pain and humiliation."

Loosening her grip on his hand, Azula brought her knee forward violently, a small smile lighting her features as her brother bent forward, gripping his injured stomach as he struggled to take in another breath.

"Hopefully the next time we meet, you won't make such a foolish mistake the second time." The fire princess threw back her head to laugh. "Not that you'll ever get the chance."

Her merciless gaze swung back around to fasten on her brother's bent figure, one lip curling in disgust. As he raised his face to meet her, she was shocked by the look of open defiance in his eyes. He still refused to submit.

The sun's final rays illuminated the left side of Zuko's face, a face that screamed of painful scars from his past. His hazel eyes stubbornly refused to yield to her as they met her glare evenly, without a trace of fear. With a growl, Azula raised one hand above her head. A flame sparked to life in her palm.

Zuko glared at his younger sister as she stood domineeringly above him, his breaths coming in shallow pants as he struggled to maintain his grip on the world around him. His muscles screamed with exhaustion, demanding oxygen and nourishment while his body yelled back that it had nothing left to offer.

Azula's voice had taken on a note of barely contained fury as she stood above him. She spat out her next words as if they were poison, while her contemptuous glare blatantly confirmed her feelings for him. "I'll teach you respect, brother. Your two years in exile have obviously taught you nothing of it!" His tired gaze caught sight of the flame in her hand and he struggled to rise to his feet, his muscles and wounds fiercely protesting the movement.

As his sister's judgmental hand swung downwards, Zuko could not help the reflex action of momentarily blinking as he anticipated the incapacitating blow that was to follow.

It never came.

Hearing a loud thud, the firebender's amber eyes snapped open, his regard falling immediately to grace the unconscious form of his sister. A large disk of ice lay next to her, and he could already see the bump forming on the back of her skull.

A familiar, feminine voice cut through the haze that seemed to have momentarily impeded his thoughts, her tone clear and triumphant. "Serves you right to ignore me!"

Her soft, dark-skinned hand abruptly gripped his arm, pulling him into an upward stance. Zuko staggered slightly as his legs protested against their suddenly increased burden, clamping his mouth shut to prevent himself from voicing the pain that his body was loudly telling his brain he was in. Swinging his attention from his unconscious opponent below him to the one who had gripped him by the arm, Zuko was nevertheless surprised when he caught sight of the waterbender.

Tugging him impatiently forward, she turned back to briefly face him. "Come on, we need to hurry! I doubt she'll be out of it long, and I'm sure the rest of the firebenders will be right on our heels!"

_She came back. _

The thought swirled through his foggy mind, and he fought to come to some realization or conclusion that would justify her return. Failing to come to an understanding of what kind of reward she could have hoped to gain by coming back, he allowed himself to be pulled along by the waterbender.

Clearing all troubling thoughts from his mind, Zuko instead placed all of his focus on trying to simply place one foot in front of the other. Shaking his sleeve from her grip with a low growl, he muttered something indignantly about being led around by a peasant. She simply shrugged and continued onwards, increasing her pace but then glancing back again with frustration as she noticed he was not able to maintain it.

"Hurry up, Zuko!" His head felt heavy as he lifted it to take in the sight of the water tribe peasant who walked quickly before him. Every once in a while, she would glance back the way they came, obviously expecting a pursuit. Catching his gaze, she must have gauged the exhaustion in his eyes as she sighed.

"I thought I could expect more from you, honestly! After chasing us for months, you can't even handle a quick walk?"

Although in the back of his mind Zuko recognized that she was only trying to goad him into walking faster, he took offence at the comment regardless, grunting as he increased his pace to a jog. Fastening his gaze on her figure, he felt slightly better about his situation by glaring daggers at the girl's back while he struggled to keep up with her. _Damn waterbender..._

Twilight was steadily falling, and as they finally reached the nearby woods, the firebender was finding it difficult to maintain his footing as it became more and more of a challenge to effectively see.

The waterbender stumbled suddenly on an extended root in front of her, stopping with a lowly muttered curse. "Shoot! I was hoping to be able to make it back to Aang and Sokka before it got too dark…"

Glancing around, she was obviously puzzling things out in her mind. They needed to find adequate enough shelter to spend the night. If Azula decided to send out a search party tonight, - which she undoubtedly would - the last thing they wanted was to be discovered crashing around in the dark.

Summoning vestiges of energy the exiled prince hadn't even known he had, Zuko glanced critically at the trees that surrounded them, forcing his brain into forming some kind of cohesive though pattern. "There."

Following the direction from his pointed finger, he saw the waterbender make out the area he had pointed to, nodding as she, too, found it to be satisfactory. Several meters in front of them, the ground dipped slightly, the branches of a single large tree secluding the area but still managing to make it not look too suspicious to a passerby.

Walking forward, Zuko motioned for Katara to enter their sanctuary first, watching as she disappeared behind the branches. "There isn't a lot of room in here," she quietly called back, her head poking back out of the branches to glance inquiringly at him. "Are you sure you can spend the night in such close proximity to a peasant like me?"

Growling in rebuttal, the exiled prince stepped forward, and she slipped back behind the branches, leaving room for him to enter as well. She was right, there wasn't much in the way of space. As soon as he slipped down into the protected alcove he was enveloped by darkness, but was nevertheless able to see that their hideout would barely be able to comfortably sleep the two of them. Zuko glanced up as he crouched down, noticing that only one or two stars could be seen through the dense branches of the tree they were taking shelter beneath.

Sparing the water tribe peasant a glare, he turned his back to her, a difficult feat to accomplish as he wasn't even able to properly stand, and was instead forced to crouch. She had sat with her back leaning against the trunk of the large tree they were taking shelter beneath, her gaze appearing as equally as pleased as his own. When she realized that he was not planning on responding to her comment, she spoke grudgingly again. "Well, you better not snore."

Shooting her one more scathing glare over his shoulder, Zuko finally sat down, grimacing as his tired body protested at the slight movement. Slowly letting out the breath he had been holding, he noticed the waterbender's gaze fastened on him, and spoke out defensively.

"What?"

------

Katara was, needless to say, not too pleased about her present situation. Being stuck sleeping under a tree in the forest with a fugitive of the Fire Nation was simply not what she considered to be the idea of a good time. Especially when that fugitive happened to be the exiled prince of the Fire Nation, the one who had caused her and her friends so many countless hours of grief.

He had caught her staring at him, and had spoken out immediately in defense. Rolling her eyes, Katara wondered if the exiled prince was always so charming to strangers. Letting out a breath to calm herself, Katara spoke quietly, although there was still a distinct, hard edge in her voice. "Nothing."

He continued to regard her suspiciously, until she eventually began to grow uncomfortable under his amber gaze. She was about to snap at him in irritation when he finally spoke, his words, for once, containing no traces of animosity. "Are you hurt anywhere?"

Despite her best efforts, the waterbender simply could not keep the surprise out of her features. She wondered briefly if she needed to clean out her ears, because if she wasn't mistaken, Zuko had just asked her a question about her well-being. She would never, not in a hundred years, have guessed that the firebender had any concern for anyone other than himself and his own ambitions.

As if reading her thoughts, Zuko countered stubbornly, "Not that I care what happens to a stupid water tribe peasant anyways." His gaze shifted to fasten itself on the ground at his feet as he moved to brush aside an invisible speck of dust from one of his sleeves.

Having reconfirmed her unflattering suspicions anew, Katara simply rolled her eyes, glaring at the ex-prince.

"Katara."

His slightly puzzled gaze rose to meet her own, and she frowned somewhat angrily at his innocently ignorant frown. "My name. It's Katara. Not water tribe peasant, not commoner, not waterbender. Ka-ta-ra."

Rolling his shoulders back and breaking her gaze, Zuko shrugged offhandedly. "Knowing your name still doesn't alter the fact that you're a peasant…"

Letting out a loud, frustrated breath, Katara shot the exiled prince another deadly glare. However, as she lacked a cunning retort, the waterbender yanked out her water flask, uncorking the lid to instead take a drink.

Glancing up, she noticed that Zuko's gaze had locked itself quite fastidiously onto her canteen. Knowing that he was far too proud to ever ask for something from her, she wordlessly passed the water over to him, glaring furiously at the firebender when he then had the gall to hesitate to accept it.

"It's not poisoned or anything, if that's what you think."

Returning her glare, he snatched the canteen from her grip, his retort filled with as much animosity as hers had been. "Don't take me for a fool… peasant." Tipping it back, he drank deeply, his features momentarily relaxing from their previously guarded state.

With a low growl and an utterance of something along the lines of "conceited jerk", Katara rose to a crouch, moving towards the entrance of their tiny abode. Catching his suspicious glare, she returned it with twice the ferocity. "I have to do my business – surely you don't want to accompany me?"

Katara's glare transformed into a smug grin as the exiled prince immediately ducked his head downwards, and she felt fairly confident that in the obscurity of the night, he was blushing.

Exiting their hideout, the waterbender did not move far away from the tree, for no other reason than she didn't want to get lost in the darkness. Having relieved herself, she slipped silently back into the shelter of the tree, noticing immediately that Zuko had shifted his position so that he now sat with his back leaning against the trunk of the tree.

Letting out a deep breath and reminding herself to stay calm, Katara opted not to bring up the fact that Zuko had taken position in _her _spot, and instead lay down her cloak in the space beside him. She sat down in her makeshift bed, her sapphire gaze returning back to focus on the firebender with curiosity, wondering at the fact that she had been with him now for two full minutes and he had not yet insulted her. Crawling forward so that she was crouched very closely to the exiled prince, the waterbender struggled to examine him in the near-pitch darkness.

He was sleeping.

His chest rose and fell almost imperceptibly, but Katara still managed to pick up the movement. And now that she was looking, she noticed as well that his head was lolled slightly forward, his normally piercing amber gaze camouflaged by his closed eyelids.

"I can't believe him…" Picking up her canteen, the waterbender discovered that it had been nearly emptied, and made a silent note to herself to refill it as soon as she rose in the morning. Sparing the sleeping firebender a final glare, she moved back to her own cramped space, lowering herself onto the hard earth and preparing herself for another uncomfortable night.

Katara had expected to remain awake for a long time, not imagining ever being comfortable enough in Zuko's presence to fall asleep. Maybe it was his even, quiet breathing that lulled her into slumber, or perhaps - more likely - her exhaustion from the days adventures. Either way, Katara was asleep within minutes.

------

"Princess Azula! Are you alright?"

Azula angrily swatted away the hand of the unknown soldier who had offered to help her rise. Drawing back one hand to linger lightly over the now-swollen bump on the back of her skull, her cold hazel gaze swept down to the melting puddle of ice on the ground. Rising smoothly to her feet, the Fire Nation princess kept her voice disconcertingly calm as she gazed into the woods. "Has the other prisoner been secured?"

The soldier's voice was puzzled as he replied. "Y-yes, Milady. Do you want us to pursue the two fugitives?"

She held her up, palm facing forward, silencing the soldier as she disregarded his last request. "Good. Then we shall return to the palace." Her gaze wandered slowly back down to the pool of water on the ground, the dry earth below already in the process of absorbing the much-needed moisture.

"B-but, Milady…"

The singeing flame that erupted without warning from her hand silenced the trembling soldier, as he bowed deeply and repeated her request. "Back to the palace. Of course, Princess Azula."

The princess paused for a moment longer, her hazel gaze still fastened on the liquid pooling at her feet. She spun around to face the gates of the city of Omashu, taking care to ensure that her lowly uttered words did not reach the ears of the soldier who was walking awkwardly ahead of her.

"I shan't underestimate you a second time, waterbender… you made a fatal mistake when you chose to interfere with me."

------

_Haha, I still managed to only answer one of the three questions! –grins maliciously— you now have no choice but to continue reading if you ever want to know what becomes of Iroh, Aang, and Sokka… (Although you can probably already guess what happened. Meh, oh well.)_

_This chapter was a bit longer than the others; I hope no one was bored. Thanks again to all my reviewers, especially shadow-n-the-dark, Fruit-Sexual, The Violent Tomboy, abstractmind (heehee, I laughed when I wrote 'orgasmic tea' too!), Rashaka, and many others! Thank you so much! Keep reviewing, and I'll keep writing! _


	5. Chapter five

_Woot woot! 50 reviews! Thanks so much guys! I really appreciate all your comments! –-pokes Shadow-n-the-dark-- (Still waiting for my piece of useless information!) Lol, anyways, I was pretty stoked to write this chapter, mainly because it has the first Katara/Zuko interaction that doesn't involve arguments. Well, mostly, anyways… --grins—_

_Anyways, I was reading back over chapter four, and I'm still not super-happy with it, so I might go back and change a few things… but on the bright side, the English essay that I was writing at the same time as chapter four was the best in the class! So, yeah… now that you all know about my English marks, on to chapter five! Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: _Yep… still don't own the show…

_**Penetrating the Smokescreen**_

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Chapter five

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Katara's eyes snapped open with a start as she abruptly sat up, slightly puzzled at first when she felt her head brush against the branches of a tree. Her eyes lighted on Zuko's sleeping figure in the darkness, and in a rush of memories, all of the events from the previous day came back to her.

Stifling a yawn, Katara rolled her stiff shoulders back with a wince, and then stretched her arms forward. Her sapphire eyes lighting on the canteen beside her, Katara recalled that it had been quite empty the night before, and rose to a crouch, making her way quietly to the small entrance that led outside.

As her glance lighted on the prone figure of the sleeping ex-prince, the waterbender shook her head, chastising herself. _I can't believe I actually fell asleep with_ him _in_ _here… _

Slipping outside, Katara rubbed her arms, attempting to warm herself against the mornings' chill. Judging by the amount of light – or lack thereof – she realized that it was not even dawn yet. That explained her tiredness, anyways.

Walking forward, the waterbender took in a deep breath, smiling as she took in the familiar scent of slightly damp earth and trees. It took only several minutes for her to find an adequate source of water, and she quickly filled her large canteen. Sparing a glance at the surface of the water, Katara winced as she caught sight of her reflection.

Crouching down, she washed the dirt from her face, untying her hair and finger combing it before re-braiding her long chestnut brown locks. Re-examining herself, she smiled as she saw that she looked at least slightly more presentable, before making her way back to the pitiful camp she had spent the night in.

Slipping back into the darkness offered by the large branches of the tree, Katara was careful to keep her movements silent, all the while keeping a suspicious eye on the sleeping firebender. He may have helped her out before, but that didn't mean she trusted him.

Sitting cross-legged, Katara attempted to find something to occupy her time. Picking up her somewhat tattered cloak, she made to fold it when a relatively large bundle caught her attention. A smile took to her lips when the waterbender realized with happiness that it was the bag of supplies she had gotten yesterday. Somehow, it had remained attached to her clothing, despite yesterday's adventures.

Carefully placing the pack at her side, Katara quickly examined its contents. Most of it had managed to escape harm as well, a fact that served to lighten her mood considerably. At least now she had _something _to show for her disastrous trip to Omashu.

However, she was not very hungry yet, and so placed her dark-skinned hands on her folded knees, once again looking for a way to pass her time. After staring pointedly for several minutes at the branches above her head, Katara finally could not help but examine the stranger who was sleeping with his back against the trunk of the large tree.

_He certainly looks different… _Katara hadn't had the time to notice the day before, but Zuko was no longer sporting the ponytail that she had become accustomed to seeing him with. Instead, a short, fuzzy growth of hair covered his head. The waterbender could not help but think that his new look was remarkably more attractive than the last.

Shaking the thought from her head with a frown, the waterbender continued her examination of the firebender. His cloak was wrapped tightly around him, prohibiting most of her visual probing, but she was still able to pick up on the fact that he seemed to have lost a fair bit of weight since the last time she had seen him.

Thinking back to the wanted posters seen in Omashu, Katara drew in her breath, her eyes widening slightly with realization. Zuko was a wanted man in his own country, and a firebender – therefore he wouldn't be able to just walk through any town. He was a wanted man basically no matter where he went.

Katara felt a brief pang of pity for the exiled prince as she eyed him, finally understanding the reason why he must have come to Omashu in the first place. There must have been a certain amount of desperation as a motivator for him to try to sneak into a city controlled by the Fire Nation.

_Don't start feeling sorry for him, Katara! Zuko's gotten everything he's deserved, after the way he's been chasing Aang for the past couple of months! _Dismissing the last remaining thoughts of pity from her mind with a severe shake of her head, Katara returned to her dispassionate examination of the firebender, reminding herself all the while that no matter how innocent he looked now, he was a fierce opponent, and her enemy.

Moving her cerulean gaze back up to focus on the firebender's face, Katara realized that he looked younger than she had previously thought him to be. The hostile look that always seemed to haunt his features was not present, and although she wouldn't go as far as saying he looked peaceful per say, he definitely didn't look much older than she.

The left side of his face was turned to the other side, effectively hiding his scar from her view, and Katara frowned slightly. He was actually quite handsome. _Maybe if he smiled once in a while, he wouldn't look so intimidating all the time. _Recalling his remarks from the day before, the waterbender felt her frustration towards the sleeping firebender rise, and she advanced slowly on his sleeping form.

_Maybe if he wasn't so rude, stuck up, arrogant and conceited- _Katara's thoughts were interrupted as she halted, now crouched quite close to him. Examining his face once again, her probing gaze called her attention to a rather large bruise on Zuko's right temple. At the sight of the angrily discolored skin, Katara winced slightly, thinking back to yesterday's quarrels.

_I didn't see him take any blows to the head… how could he have gotten that? _Katara drew one hand to her mouth as her eyes widened slightly with guilty realization. It was true that she hadn't seen Zuko take any blows to the head when they had fought together. But when she had first collided with him…

Katara guiltily recalled hearing the sharp crack of a skull hitting the earth, and her glance moved back to the bruise. I _did that? It looks like it must've really hurt… _The waterbender gingerly reached her hand forward, her fingertips brushing ever so lightly across the wound.

No sooner had she made contact with his skin than Zuko's amber eyes snapped open, his fierce amber glare swinging to engulf her. His tone was filled with animosity as he spoke, his features molding themselves into a hostile look that was quickly becoming familiar to the waterbender. "Just what do you think you're doing, peasant?"

Katara withdrew her hand as if stung, shuffling backwards to increase the distance between the two. Zuko glared at her with animosity, and she felt any kind feelings she may have had towards him abruptly evaporate.

"I noticed your bruise and wanted to make sure it was okay!" Katara's voice rose defensively, as the exiled prince continued to scowl skeptically towards her. "Look, I felt a little guilty about it, alright?"

His harsh look seemed to soften slightly as he raised a hand to lightly touch the bruise, wincing slightly at the contact. "The injury _you _caused, you mean?"

Katara shot the firebender an exasperated glare. "I'm sorry, okay? It's not like I meant it or anything."

Zuko brushed her apology aside, glancing down and refusing to meet her gaze. "Whatever. It's not like it hurts, anyways."

_Liar, _The waterbender continued to glare at him, and he finally met her gaze, meeting her scowl with an expression that was equally as pleasant.

This unspoken battle of wills was quite unexpectedly interrupted by the sound of Zuko's grumbling stomach. Katara's glance quickly shifted from anger to surprise, and then amusement as an embarrassed flush rose to the exiled prince's cheeks. The object of the waterbender's attention quickly ducked his head down to hide the blush, but not before she caught it.

Although succeeding in suppressing a chuckle, Katara still could not manage to keep the amusement out of her voice when she spoke. "When was the last time you ate?"

Having regained control over his features, Zuko met her bemused and inquiring gaze with a ferocious scowl, practically spitting out the next words. "I don't know. Probably about two days or so." Obviously then having regretted answering her question, he broke her gaze and began to intently examine his cloak, fully intending to ignore the waterbender beside him.

"Two days? Are you serious?" The prince chose not acknowledge her query, but this time concern won out over Katara's frustration. "How on earth did you manage yesterday?"

Recalling how she had forced him into keeping up with her the night before, Katara felt a fresh wave of guilt as she caught sight of the pouch lying on the ground next to her. Shifting over to sit on her cloak, she picked up the bag, glancing up to see the firebender's amber gaze intently fastened on it. "Want some breakfast?"

She could tell that he was making a valiant effort at attempting to restrain his eagerness as he gave her a curt nod, unraveling himself from the folds of his cloak and drawing his knees up to move closer to her. At which point he restrained a yelp and gripped his side, wincing as he sat back against the tree harshly.

Moving back towards the obviously injured firebender, Katara's voice was laced with concern. "Hey, are you alright?"

Zuko, gritting his teeth, glared at her. "Don't concern yourself with me, peasant. I'm fine."

Feeling her frustration mounting for the umpteenth time that morning, Katara returned his glare. "Liar! You're obviously in pain - don't try to deny it! And if you won't let me look at your injuries, well… you won't get to eat!"

Katara could not help but feel a little smug as Zuko opened and then closed his mouth, his scowl intensifying as he failed to come up with an intelligent retort. It seemed that he managed to muster all of his anger into one single word, however.

"Fine."

------

Zuko crossed his arms, and, not being able to actually see the water tribe peasant, contented himself with glaring at the nearest shrub. He was sitting next to a small stream; his angered gaze switching quickly from the bush and then back to the bag that obviously contained the food beside him.

_Damn waterbender. _She had refused to let him eat until she could look at his wounds, and she claimed not to be able to examine them well enough in the darkness beneath the tree. Fine. So he had painstakingly made his way outside, at which point the waterbender decided to make him move even more, stating that she might need more water than what she had in her canteen in order to heal his wounds.

_Stupid peasant. _He growled, finally forcing himself to stare at the bush, a small smile lighting his features as he imagined the impertinent shrub bursting into flames. At this point, the reason why he had been moved finally sunk into his pain-riddled brain.

"Wait a minute, peasant. Who said anything about healing? As I recall, you merely needed to examine my wounds, not heal them."

Hearing her sigh of frustration, he tilted his head slightly to catch the peasant's eye. She seemed to struggle with herself for several moments before she finally took a deep breath, fully meeting his gaze. "My name is Katara." Still seeming to be battling with some unknown inner conflict, she finally seemed to manage monotonously stating the following words: "Now… take off your shirt."

His eyes widened with a surprise that he could not manage to keep out of his voice when he finally spoke. "Wha…what did you say?"

"How am I supposed to examine you when I can't see anything?" The waterbender snapped defensively, none too pleased herself. "Now, do you want to eat, or not?"

Grumbling under his breath, he finally assented, gritting his teeth as his pained body fiercely objected to the movement. Finally, after several painstaking moments, Zuko had the shirt off. And much to his irritation, he heard her sharp intake of breath. "What?" He spoke defensively, having misunderstood her reaction.

Tensing as he felt her hand brush against his shoulder, she spoke softly, and he was puzzled at the lack of accusation or frustration in her voice. "I'm so sorry… I didn't realize…"

Glancing down, Zuko finally understood the reason for her unusual reaction. He looked terrible. The burn was an angry red color, while his ribs were bruised and discolored where Azula had kicked them. Hardening his voice, the firebender finally spoke, brushing off her apology. "It's nothing. Just hurry up and do whatever you plan on doing."

The firebender was nevertheless surprised when the water tribe girl did not lash out in anger, and instead bended a stream of water into her hand, forming a watery glove over her hand. Crouching down, she placed it softly on his side, and he felt himself tense at the unfamiliar touch.

She glanced up, her cerulean gaze meeting his own, disarming the last remnants of his frustration. "Relax, would you?"

Making an effort to do as he was told, he was surprised when he felt the aching pain that had accompanied him since the day before slowly diminish, and glanced down to watch with surprise as the angry burn slowly faded, new skin taking its place.

The waterbender's face was etched with concentration as she bended a new stream of water to her hand, moving her attentions elsewhere. Although she could not heal the rest of his injuries as well as she had the burn, Zuko nevertheless felt the pain subside into the background, and finally relaxed as his eyes flitted closed.

After sitting silently for several minutes, the firebender finally had the courage to word the question that had been buzzing in his mind since the moment he had woken up. "Why did you come back?"

The waterbender paused for a moment, trying to piece together what he had meant from his cryptic question. Finally understanding, she shrugged. "I don't know… it was the right thing to do." Although he did not find her answer satisfactory, Zuko let the query drop, allowing her to continue her healing.

Her ministrations continued for several more minutes before she finally stopped, and Zuko froze as he felt her cool hand make contact with his bruised temple. Slapping her hand aside, he glared at her. "What do you think you're doing?"

Taking offense at her suddenly hurt expression, he swung his gaze back to the shrub, scowling fiercely. "Fine. Just hurry it up."

He felt rather than saw the waterbender raise her hand anew, bending a small stream of water to her hand as she once again placed it on the bruise. Zuko closed his eyes, feeling a sense of relief as the pain was slowly dulled.

"There. Finished." Opening his amber eyes, Zuko's gaze met that of the waterbender. She smiled towards him, and then moved to rummage about in her bag. While she did so, Zuko reached over to grab his shirt, pleased when he found himself in no pain putting it on. The waterbender pulled an apple out of the bag, and then some bread and several slices of cheese; she then offered them to the firebender, removing an apple from the bag for herself.

Accepting the food, Zuko was careful to eat slowly, knowing that his stomach would be very unaccustomed to nourishment after going for such a long time without. Glancing up, he thoughtfully eyed the waterbender as she delicately ate her apple, her gaze fastened on the nearby stream of water.

"Thank you." She glanced up, surprised, and he noted with resentment that she was attempting to gauge whether he was speaking sincerely or not. Did she truly find him that abhorrent? "For healing me. And the food."

She nodded, slowly, as if unsure of herself. Zuko swung his gaze back to stare at the flowing water, taking a bite from the apple and savoring its sweet flavor. As he finished his meal, the exiled prince vowed to never take advantage of having food ever again.

The waterbender stood up beside him, stretching. "Well, I guess we'd better go our separate ways now. It'd probably be a good idea to get going before your sis- I mean, the firebenders catch up with us."

Zuko scowled, suddenly recalling his duel with Azula, and his painfully embarrassing loss. If it hadn't been for the water tribe peasant…

She made to leave, and the firebender hurriedly rose, glancing around the clearing. Gritting his teeth, he called out after her. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?"

Turning around, the water tribe peasant eyed him with an infuriatingly innocent regard. "Back to my camp… where else?"

Zuko glared at the waterbender, furious at having to ask such questions of her, indignantly feeling that it should be the other way around. "Fine; but where are we?"

Her gaze contained a small hint of amusement as she glanced back, a fact that only served to add to his vexation. "Can't you figure it out?" Noting his fury, she made an effort at looking more serious. "Well, it _was_ dark when we came here last night, I suppose. Look, I just want to make sure my brother and Aang are all right; they're probably worried sick about me. Then I'll take you back to your camp, okay?"

Grunting in reply, he made to follow her out of the small clearing, frustrated once again at his complete and utter lacking in the skills of survival. He followed the waterbender as she criss-crossed her way through the trees, puzzling at how she managed to keep track of where they were going.

They walked in silence for about ten minutes before she glanced back at him, concern etched in her features. "Hey, if I'm taking you to my camp, you won't try to…"

Zuko could feel his already provoked irritation rising as he glanced up to meet the waterbender's eyes. "There would be no use in me capturing the Avatar now." Breaking her gaze, Zuko focused on the ground at his feet. _Even the Avatar couldn't help me now… _

Completely unaware of the turn his thoughts had taken, the waterbender continued forward, her light pace coming to an unannounced abrupt halt. Almost walking into her back, Zuko glanced up with a grumble, aggravated by the interruption of his dismal thoughts. "What now, peas-"

Glancing past her, he caught sight of a small clearing. Remnants of its recent occupation were clearly evident, from the ashes in the small fire pit, to the supplies that had been cast almost carelessly to the side.

The water tribe girl stepped forward, glancing around. "This isn't right. Aang and Sokka wouldn't just leave our stuff sitting here… and where's Momo and Appa?" Zuko was aware of a sudden rise in the pitch of her voice as she stooped to pick something up from the ground. Glancing at the object clasped in her hand, the firebender made out that it was a white bison-shaped whistle.

Shifting his gaze from the whistle, Zuko took a quick glance around the clearing, frowning as he caught signs of recent disturbances on the ground. Crouching to the ground, he examined a small dark mark on the earth, realization lighting in his eyes as he glanced back up at the desolated waterbender.

"Maybe they went to go look for me… and they left this stuff here in case I came back…" She met his gaze, almost hopefully. "Or maybe-"

Zuko stood up, cutting her off mid-sentence. "It was the Fire Nation."

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_Well, that chapter took a bit longer than usual to update.:-) Hope everyone liked it! Thanks again for all of the reviews, please tell me what you guys thought of this chapter! (Am I going too slow, are my chapters too long/too short?) I'll try and update again this week, but I might be busy, I have three really big Physics and English exams coming up soon, and I desperately need to study! _

_And I promise, next chapter, we find out whether Iroh drank that tea or not… --grins evilly--_


	6. Chapter six

_So, um, yeah... it's kinda been a while… --throws her hands up in defense-- Sorry guys! School sucks! On the bright side though, I don't have to worry about English or Physics until University… --glances around nervously— Look, at least I have another chapter for you! And instead of studying for Chemistry I decided to write it!_

_--coughs-- _

_So, anyhoo, thanks again for all the reviews, you guys always make my day! Please enjoy chapter six – and remember to review!_

_Disclaimer: _--sighs-- if only I had the rights to Zuko… then he'd be mine, all mine… --maniacal laugh--

_**Penetrating the Smokescreen**_

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Chapter six

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Zuko was lying. It couldn't be true.

Katara felt herself collapse as her knees suddenly refused to hold her weight, and sitting back on her heels, she stared at the bison whistle in her hand. She could sense the firebender standing uncomfortably behind her, although he didn't say anything else. The silence hung between them, uncomfortable and nearly stifling as Katara's thoughts whirled uncontrollably in her head.

_The Fire Nation? It can't be true. He's lying, lying, lying… _Even as she thought this, Katara knew that Zuko was telling the truth… disheartening as it was, Zuko was right. This realization was followed swiftly by a fresh wave of guilt as Katara ripped her gaze away from the whistle to glance at the scattered supplies.

"It's all my fault!" Katara rose to her feet abruptly, spinning around to face the startled firebender. His amber eyes widened with surprise as he met her teary-eyed gaze, and her voice rose once again in pitch. "I went to Omashu instead of Sokka, and now he's the one in danger! It's all my fault, I shouldn't have taken so long getting supplies; I should've come back sooner…" She trailed off, the whistle clutched tightly in her fist.

Zuko was obviously at a complete loss for words, staring at her with mouth agape. As she met his gaze, Katara realized with a mingled sense of embarrassment and anger that she was nearly crying, and sounded on the verge of hysterics.

She spun around, turning her back to him as she took in several deep breaths, closing her eyes and forcing herself to calm down. _Come on Katara. Pull yourself together! _

Zuko had still not spoken, and as she finally turned around, she saw his features relaxing slightly when he noted her visibly calmed expression. Rolling her shoulders back, Katara forced her voice to sound far more confident than she truly felt.

"Okay. We've got to figure out a way to rescue Aang and my brother." Bringing the whistle up to her lips, she blew into it forcefully, noting the firebender wince in expectation of a sound, and then raise an eyebrow in puzzlement as no audible noise emerged from the whistle.

"It's a bison whistle," Katara hurriedly explained, "and only Appa can hear it. Hopefully, he and Momo weren't captured, too." The waterbender glanced around the clearing, before meeting the exiled prince's gaze. "Do you think it was the same firebender we fought in Omashu?"

Switching his unimpressed gaze from the whistle back to her face, Zuko nodded somewhat grimly. "I imagine so. I don't think anyone else would have the abilities to take down the Avatar."

He opened his mouth once again to add another comment, but Katara interrupted him, nodding to herself. "Alright. I think she'll be a tough opponent, but the two of us could probably take her on. We just need to figure out-"

"Hold on just a minute, peasant! What's with all this talk of 'we', and 'us'?" Zuko's irritated voice finally broke through Katara's thoughts, and she met his angered hazel gaze. "I don't know what gave you the faulty impression that I would offer you or your pitiful friends any aid, but I assure you, it is ill-based."

"But, I helped you out in Omashu…" Katara's voice sounded deflated and weak even in her own ears as she struggled to maintain the gaze of the firebender.

"You were more of a nuisance than a help, peasant. Besides, the situation would not even have arisen had it not been for your interference!"

Katara's eyes snapped with fresh anger as she spun to face him, infuriated not just at him, but also at herself for having made an assumption about his loyalties. "You would have died – twice! – if I hadn't been there to save you, you jerk!"

The exiled prince opened his mouth to reply, but both teens were interrupted by the sound of a familiar grunt, and a small blast of wind. As one the two turned to take in the sight of the giant bison that had landed several feet away from them. The beast's large eyes shifted from the waterbender to the firebender, and he opened his mouth once again to vocalize his presence. Sitting atop his head, a small lemur made himself visible as he threw his small arms into the air, chattering animatedly in his foreign and incomprehensible language.

"Appa, Momo! You're safe!" Relief flooded into her features as Katara broke into a grin, feeling her spirits rise slightly. Suddenly recalling her argument, however, the waterbender's attention swung back to the exiled prince.

Spinning on her heel, she glared fiercely at him. "Fine! It's not like I wanted your help in the first place, anyways!" She made her way quickly over towards the bison, letting out another relieved sigh as she patted Appa's mammoth side.

Growling, Zuko followed her, stopping short a safe distance from the large creature. "You can't be serious! Azula is not someone to be trifled with, peasant… she will show you no mercy."

Somewhat surprised at the shift his tone had taken from anger to something that was almost akin to concern, Katara glanced back towards the firebender. "I don't have any choice – I have to save Aang and Sokka."

With that said, Katara clambered her way up Appa's back, taking the reins and glancing down at the firebender below her. "The entrance to Omashu is that way," Katara said as she pointed out the direction with her hand. "I'm sure you can find your camp from there."

Zuko nodded, although he still seemed on the verge of speaking. Finally, with a fierce shake of his head he spun around, making his way towards the line of trees she had directed him to.

The waterbender watched him leave with an inexplicable feeling of sadness. Shaking off the emotion, however, she rummaged through the folds of her cloak. "Zuko, wait!"

The exiled prince spun around, eyeing her inquisitively. He caught the parcel she tossed him, and then met her gaze with a frown.

Katara shrugged, feeling a nearly imperceptible and inexplicable blush creeping up to her cheeks. "You look like you need it more than I do." Gathering Appa's reins, she spared one last glance towards the firebender. "Take care of yourself, alright? Yip yip!"

Appa lifted off from the ground with a low grumble, and Katara glanced down once again as Zuko's figure shrunk far away into the distance. When the clearing was finally lost amongst the trees, Katara shifted her attention to the city of Omashu, taking in a deep breath. _All right, Katara. It's time to save your friends._

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Zuko watched as the form of the bison disappeared into the sky, glancing down at the bag in his hands. He had recognized it immediately as the bag containing the water tribe girl's supplies, but he still did not understand her reasoning for giving it to him.

_Forget it, Zuko._ Shaking his head, he glanced back towards the trees, hoping he would be able to successfully navigate his way back to his uncle. Bag in hand, the firebender treaded a path through the trees, frustrated at finding his thoughts just as entangled as his route.

The water tribe girl certainly was puzzling. During their battle at the North Pole, she had fought him equally, refusing to back down even an inch. This spirit seemed to be equally reflected in her often-blazing temper. However, she was also calm, soothing; like her element. It was at times like these that Zuko had found himself doubting his firm labeling of the waterbender as an enemy.

And she had come back for him. This action was the most difficult one for him to decipher. She had said it was because it was 'the right thing to do,' and perhaps that was all it had meant to her. Either way, it made no cognitive sense to him. She would have avoided much more danger and trouble had she simply fled, leaving him to his own fate.

Not that he wasn't grateful for her return, mind you. As infuriating as it was, in the state he had been in, he had been no match for his sister.

And he had let the waterbender go on her own to face that same sister, on a foolhardy quest to save her brother and the Avatar. _You don't have a responsibility to baby-sit a silly water tribe peasant! She is perfectly capable of taking care of herself!_

Convincing as these thoughts were, they still did not succeed in sating his guilt. Growling with frustration, Zuko glared at the path ahead of him. _Damned peasant! _

The firebender continued his furious stomping through the woods, paying little heed to his surroundings. He could feel his temper rising, but the fact that he was angry with himself only caused him more internal strife.

So caught up was the exiled prince in his own thoughts that he was not aware of how close he was to his destination until he fairly stumbled into the area where he had left his uncle the day before, his infuriated gaze swinging from left to right and then finally locking onto the figure of his uncle.

"Uncle, I'm back… Uncle, what are you doing!"

Iroh had been sitting with his back to Zuko, but when he heard his nephew's voice, he had swung around to meet him, his hands clasped around a steaming cup.

"Ah, Zuko, you've returned! What took you so long? Come, sit with me and have a delicious cup of tea."

Taking in a deep breath, the youth advanced on his uncle. "Where did you get the tea?"

"Funny that you should ask, Zuko!" Iroh grinned warmly towards his nephew as the said youth approached the retired general. "Remember that white jade bush I made tea from before? Well, I found a plant very similar to it, and I believe that this time, it is actually the white dragon bush! The tea made from its leaves is positively out of this world!"

His eyes radiating an icy calm, Zuko motioned for his uncle to hand him the cup. "Uncle, let me see."

Iroh, still blissfully unaware of his nephew's fury, handed Zuko the cup. "No need to worry, I made plenty more! As a matter of fact-" The elderly firebender was suddenly interrupted as his horrified gaze followed form of the cup, still filled with liquid, soaring across the clearing. The cup landed on the grass with a thump several yards away. "…Zuko?"

Iroh's dismayed gaze followed his nephew as Zuko made his way to where the rest of the tea simmered in the clay pot, tea which was decisively poured to the ground.

Meeting his nephew's gaze, the retired general winced as he sensed his nephew's anger. Honestly, making the tea couldn't have made him _that_ furious, could it?

Zuko, still not meeting his uncle's gaze, sat down next to the elderly firebender, withdrawing the food-laden pouch from his cloak. "I brought some food."

Iroh's eyes immediately lit up, but his amber gaze still held concern as he regarded his nephew. "Zuko… you're not just mad about the tea, are you? What happened in Omashu?"

Scowling, Zuko rose to his feet, moving to stand with his back facing his uncle. "Nothing happened! Don't try and change the subject, Uncle – you should have learned from your last experience that your knowledge of herbs is unreliable at best."

Contemplating further probing his nephew to discover just what was ailing him, Iroh glanced into the bag. "Zuko, did _you _shop for these?"

The firebender glared at the empty cup that lay forlornly on the ground, his uncle's query having renewed his frustration towards the waterbender. "No. I didn't."

"I didn't think so! This is amazing! Look at all this food! And – Zuko, whoever purchased this food deserves our eternal gratitude – ginseng tea!"

Gritting his teeth, Zuko glared daggers at the lopsided teacup. His uncle's happy chattering faltered slightly as the retired general caught sight of his nephew's tense stance. "Zuko? Are you alright?"

"Damned peasant!" Zuko threw up his hands in anger, spinning around to engulf his uncle in a scathing glare. Iroh's amber eyes widened with innocent shock at his nephew's sudden and unprovoked outburst, astonished at seeing actual flames curling their way around Zuko's clenched fists.

Meeting his uncle's surprised gaze, the exiled prince put a great deal of effort into trying to calm himself down. The flames dispersed immediately, although Zuko's stance remained quite stiff. Taking several deep breaths, he glanced back up towards his uncle, resolution etched firmly into his features.

"Uncle, I'm going back to Omashu… I forgot to pick something up."

"But, Zuko…" Iroh's protest died on his lips as he caught sight of his nephew's resolute eyes. "All right then. I'll make sure that there's some tea ready for you when you get back."

Zuko felt some of his anxiety ease itself from his shoulders as he nodded, relieved at his uncle's obviously repressed curiosity. "We may need to make a quick getaway when I come back, so be ready."

Without any other verbal mean of farewell, he waved to his uncle, who in return half-heartedly mimicked Zuko's farewell.

Treading his way back the way he had come, the firebender mentally chastised himself. _Idiot! You're going to get yourself killed! For what? Some water tribe girl you care nothing about? _Growling under his breath, Zuko continued his trek, the inward battle raging in his head.

_She did the same for you. _

Halting briefly, the firebender cast his amber gaze upwards, wincing against the sun's brilliant rays. _Fine. I'll repay my debt to her. Then I won't owe her anything, and I can get on with my life. _Continuing his steady pace, Zuko rolled his eyes. _That is, if I survive…_

------

Sokka was roused from his induced unconsciousness by a loud clanging noise, and he slowly raised his head in an attempt to discern the source of the sound. Closing his eyes against the dizziness that assaulted him, he tried to steady himself with his hands, but was puzzled to find them encased in shackles.

_Shackles…? _

The water tribe warrior fully opened his eyes, trying vainly to focus his vision, which was in the midst of blurring in a manner that was highly disorienting.

"Aang? Are you there?"

There was no answer to his query, and as his vision finally succeeded in focusing, Sokka saw through the thinly filtered light that he was alone in a tiny, enclosed cell.

_A cell? _His memories came back to him in a whirlwind rush, and Sokka bit back a yelp. _Firebenders! We were captured by firebenders! _Glancing around his small cell with a vain hope of some form of escape, the water tribe youth was disappointed to find that it was, with the exception of a small barred window, utterly bare.

The source of the clang that had originally woken him made itself clear as there was another loud bang on his prison cell door. Apparently, whoever was on the other side was having a difficult time opening it.

The individual attempting to gain entrance to Sokka's cell finally attained his goal, and the warrior felt his spirit crash at the sight of a masked Fire Nation soldier.

Without a word, the soldier approached Sokka, gripping him unkindly by one of his shackled arms and pulling him to his feet.

"Hey, hey! Watch it!" Protesting his rough treatment, the youth sullenly followed his captor out of his cell, glaring at the second firebender that fell into place behind him. The three of them walked along the dimly lit corridor, and Sokka's glance was cast curiously at the closed doors of the cells lining the walls of the hallway. "Hey, is the Avatar in one of these cells?"

"Keep moving!" The firebender who walked behind him shoved Sokka unkindly forward, and the warrior secured his indignant glare on the back of the Fire Nation soldier leading him forward.

"Oookay then… so, where are we going?" There was utter silence from his two captors, and Sokka let out a frustrated sigh, prepared to restate his query.

Unexpectedly, however, the firebender in the lead slowed to a halt, glancing back to watch the water tribe boy. "The Avatar is being held elsewhere, until he is taken back to the Fire Nation. You, on the other hand, are not considered as valuable to the Fire Lord."

"What do you mean, _not as valuable?_ I'll have you know that I'm one of the best warriors from my village! _And_ I've-"

"Silence! Azula does not feel that your existence is merited! We've been ordered to take you above ground, where your crimes against the Fire Nation will be punished… by death."

------

_dun dun dun… what'll happen next? I guess the best we can hope for is that you guys write me lots of reviews (hint hint hint), and I get inspired to write another chapter!_

_Until then, hope you enjoyed! I'm planning on updating sooner this time, so keep an eye out for chapter 7!_


	7. Chapter seven

_Glances around– Helloo? Anyone out there??? _

_So yeah. It's definitely been a while. How's everyone doing? Myself, I've managed to keep pretty busy, what with two jobs and everything... anyhoo, that's not the reason for the lack of updating. I just didn't feel very motivated to write... no real rhyme or reason why. But for some reason, this past week I've just been itching to write the next chapter._

_So here's a longer-than-usual chapter, my way of apologizing for taking SO long; hopefully I've still got a few readers out there who will enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: _I do not own _Avatar: The Last Airbender_. Wish I did, but I don't.

_**Penetrating the Smokescreen**_

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Chapter seven

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The wind whistled sharply in her ears as Katara peered down from Appa's back at the Fire Nation-controlled fortress in Omashu. Once King Bumi's home, it was now the Fire Nation's headquarters, and the first logical place to look for her missing brother and the Avatar. Grimacing as she realized that they would have to fly lower in order to discern the whereabouts of her two companions with any kind of detail, the waterbender carefully directed the flying bison to lower his altitude, praying that there were no soldiers who might happen to glance up and raise the alarm.

Appa circled the grounds once again, but the fortress was so large that the waterbender could not even begin to guess as to where the prison might be found. Growing more anxious as they once again soared even lower, Katara directed Appa to land on a nearby rooftop, praying against all hope that they would not be spotted. The bison landed softly for a beast his size, sensing the need for stealth, and as one they tensed, anticipating an attack.

This stock-still silence was broken as Momo suddenly scurried forward, startling Katara from her trance. Raising a finger to her lips in warning, she gently hopped down from Appa's back, taking stock of their surroundings. The rooftop they stood on was essentially bare, excepting a small grouping of large pots and an entranceway that led into the fortress below.

Sighing with relief as she realised that they had managed to land without being detected, Katara glanced over towards Appa and Momo. "All right, you two. I'll give you a call when I need you. Until then, make sure to stay out of sight!"

Grumbling in assent, Appa once again took to the skies, the lemur riding comfortably on the bison's back. Katara stood, watching as they eventually disappeared from sight before turning back to the task at hand. Taking a breath to calm her frayed nerves, the youth made her way quickly towards the nearest ledge, peering carefully over the earthen wall to watch the oblivious firebenders below.

Spotting movement below her, Katara frowned as she glimpsed an unusually large gathering of Fire Nation troops. "What's going on down there, I wonder... looks like they're getting ready for some sort of ceremony, or something..." Leaning further over the edge, she pulled back abruptly as she heard the sounds of iron boots clumping up the stairwell behind her. A masculine voice echoed up the corridor, reaching Katara as she stood frozen in the same startled position. "Could have sworn I heard something up here..."

Clenching her teeth together, Katara quickly glanced around the rooftop, realising with desperation that her only two options were to jump off the roof or hide in one of the pots... granted it was an empty pot.

Choosing the latter and decidedly safer option, she darted quickly over towards the large pots, glancing in the first and cursing as she saw that it was full. The second, thankfully, had only a few burlap sacks in it, and she wriggled her way into the oversized jar as deftly as she could manage. The space was cramped and Katara grimaced as she strained to shift one of the sacks so that it hid her, thanking the earthbenders for not choosing to leave their rooftops utterly bare.

Her timing seemed to be impeccable, for just as she stopped her shifting, the soldiers finally ascended the last of the stairs. Her fearful breath caught in her throat as the waterbender shut her eyes, hoping and praying that the Fire Nation troops would find something else to distract them.

Their voices were muffled through the clay of the pot and the sack that was laying overtop of her, but the waterbender still managed to make out most of what was said. "See, you're being paranoid. Again. There's absolutely nothing up here." The first voice was very deep, and in her mind, Katara pictured a large, muscled man. Perhaps with several scars and a wicked looking blade, and a perverse desire to torture young girls? She shook her head, clearing the ridiculous thoughts from her mind while trying to keep as still as humanly possible.

The second voice seemed younger, more nervous. Perhaps a new recruit? "But I could have sworn..."

"I can't believe you made the two of us come up here, again! This is such a waste of our time - come on, let's go! We need to hurry or we'll miss the execution! That Water Tribe boy is pretty lucky that his life will end relatively quickly. He could have been sent to the Princess to be dealt with." The deeper-voiced man let out a short laugh at his last statement, as the sounds of the firebender's footsteps changed their direction.

Against her will, Katara gasped aloud as a horrible realization swept through her: they were talking about Sokka. Too late, she became aware that she had not managed to remain completely silent, clapping her hands over her mouth in a vain attempt to muffle the sound that had already been uttered.

"Wait! Did you hear that!?" It was the nervous one again. "I heard something! There's _gotta_ be something up here!"

"Oh, for Agni's sake! Where could someone possibly hide? In those pots?"

_Please oh please oh please don't let them find me... _Ignoring the protests from her cramped muscles, Katara squeezed into an even tinier ball, praying that the Fire Nation soldiers would just _go away_...

The waterbender had no such luck, however, and she cursed under her breath as she heard the two men approach her hiding spot. Sweat dripped off her brow as she tried desperately to come up with a solution to this new dilemma. She certainly couldn't defend herself from this position, and trying to manoeuver her way out of the clay jar into a position more favourable for waterbending would give the soldiers more than enough time to burn her into a crisp.

The steps kept coming closer and closer, and her heart raced as Katara realized with a sinking feeling that this could very well be the end...

------

_Crimes punishable by death? _Sokka stared dumbly at the firebender who stood impassively before him. For what seemed an eternity, there was utter silence between them, before the Water Tribe youth finally let out a snort.

"Existence not merited? That's pretty funny! I've got to admit, you guys got me there!" His grinning gaze shifted its attention from the soldier before him to the one behind. Neither of them seemed particularly amused. "Come on... I thought it was funny... you _are_ kidding, right?"

Silence greeted his query, as Sokka was prodded unkindly from behind. "Keep moving!"

_They weren't kidding. _This realisation hit Sokka like a ton of bricks, and for a moment, he was only able to plod along behind his captor. _This can't be the end! There's still so much more I need to do... and what about Aang? And Katara?? _The lanky youth closed his eyes briefly, his mind racing with far too many morbid and depressing thoughts to even begin to document.

It was not long, however, before his survival instincts quickly kicked in, and Sokka regained a tiny amount of hope. After all, he wasn't dead _yet._, and that had to count for something. And so the Water Tribe youth began carefully plotting his escape... well, as carefully as Sokka could manage, anyways...

------

"This is ridiculous. The peasant is more than capable of taking care of herself!" Zuko stood below the intimidating earthen wall of what was once King Bumi's palace. Fire Nation troops guarded the walls, and several soldiers stood watch at the door, questioning any poor soul who pleaded for entry. "...Stupid peasant..."

Getting into the city itself had been a feat on its own, and avoiding detection on the journey from the front gates to his current spot had required skill. And now he was faced with this.

"Perfect. Just _perfect_. Why did she have to suddenly decide to be so noble?" Even as he grumbled under his breath, Zuko knew that if faced with the same situation as she, he would have done nothing different. Not that that awareness made his current dilemma any simpler, or his mood any lighter.

"Damn peasant..." Moving his gaze from the upper walls back down to the ground, Zuko frowned. The only chance he had of getting into the fortress was by creating a distraction. Quickly scanning the base of the fortress, his amber gaze settled on a pile of wooden crates that had once been used for the city's courier. A small smile lighted his lips as he glanced down at his open palms, then back up at the crates that were stacked near the wall of the fortress.

_Now this looked promising._

------

The footsteps stopped. Katara barely risked opening her eyes as she strained to hear the reason for the unexpected halt. The firebenders, standing barely a foot from her, spoke in louder, more agitated voices.

"Look! Did you see that!" It was the recruit. His voice was high pitched and shrill.

Even the gruffer sounding firebender sounded agitated as he spoke to his companion. "Looked like some kind of an explosion at the gate! C'mon, we better hurry!"

Their pounding footsteps matched the pounding of her heart as the two soldiers hurried off the rooftop. Waiting in silence for several long minutes, Katara finally dared to slowly emerge from her hiding spot, grimacing as her cramped muscles protested the movement. Poking her head from the rim of the jar, she quickly scanned the area, breathing out a sigh of relief as she saw that it was blissfully deserted.

Getting out of the clay jar required some tricky manoeuvring, but finally Katara stood on the ground, stretching out her arms and legs. A frown set into her brows as she considered what she had heard. If the two soldiers had spoken the truth, and Sokka was truly going to be put to death, she had no time to waste.

Glancing out over the rooftop, Katara's cerulean gaze was drawn to large orange flames burning near one of the fortresses' outer walls. She had no idea what or who had caused the blaze, but she closed her eyes and sent out a brief thanks to whoever the perpetrator had been. They had probably just saved her life.

Making her way quickly across the rooftop, Katara peered down into the darkened stairwell. Seeing that it was deserted, she quickly descended, realizing now that she had little time to find and rescue her brother before it was too late.

"Hold on, Sokka. I'm coming..."

------

Sokka acted quickly, stopping abruptly and swinging his shackled fists back to hit the soldier behind him squarely in the gut. Leaping forward, he heard a shout and ducked quickly as the lead guard shot forth a burst of searing flames, dropping down to rest his weight on his palms and swinging his legs around to trip the second firebender.

Wasting no time, he quickly jumped over the briefly prone firebender, racing down the corridor while hearing the loud curses of the two soldiers who were now making their pursuit. Understanding that he had very little in terms of a lead, Sokka picked up his pace, skidding around the next corner and taking off down the hallway.

_All right, Sokka. Think. What's next? _The truth was, he had no idea. His brilliant plan included no further details after escaping his captors. The angered shouts behind him grew louder as the Water Tribe boy turned around the next corner. _I have no clue where I'm going..._

Risking a glance backwards to see where his captors were, Sokka let out a yelp as a hand roughly grabbed him by the shirt and sent him reeling into one of the side passageways. Opening his mouth, his protest was muffled by a small hand, and as he glanced down to ascertain who his captor was, relief flooded him.

"Katar-" Her sister shook her head furiously, putting a finger to her lips and lowering the hand that covered his mouth. Motioning for him to follow her, the pair quietly crept down the corridor. Behind him, Sokka was relieved to hear sounds of his pursuit slowly fade.

Finally seeming to deem it somewhat safe enough to stop, Katara turned to face her older brother. In all his life, Sokka had never been more glad to see his little sister. "Hey, what took you so long?"

Without replying, Katara pulled the warrior into a tight embrace, her head buried into his chest. Standing awkwardly for a moment, Sokka finally managed to pat her back as Katara's watery gaze met his own. "Sokka, I'm so sorry! If it weren't for me taking so long in Omashu, none of this would have happened!"

"Well, that_ is_ true." Meeting his sisters' hurt gaze, Sokka managed a lopsided grin. "Come on, Katara! No one blames you! You obviously tried your best, and you did come back to help us out, right?"

His sister nodded half-heartedly, although a smile was now tugging at her lips. "Thanks, Sokka..."

"Alright. Now let's find a way to free Aang and get out of here!"

Responding to his positive attitude, Katara nodded, blinking the tears from her eyes and releasing him from her embrace. She opened her mouth to speak when Sokka suddenly frowned, grabbing her by the wrist. The two stood frozen, tense, for several painstaking seconds before the warrior finally let out his breath. Glancing up towards him, Katara opened her mouth once again to speak.

The events that occured next moved so fast, that in retrospect, Sokka could still not completely manage to sort them out. The presence that he had previously felt returned twofold, raising his hackles. His sister had not even managed to word her first sentence when he let out a shout, pushing her forcefully to the ground.

Searing pain and darkness were the only things that Sokka could next recall.

------

Her head was ringing as Katara blinked, her vision slowly straightening. It was hard to breathe. Feeling something warm and sticky on her arm, she touched it with her fingers, raising them to meet her eyes and blinking slowly at the liquid on her fingertips.

Blood.

But not her own, Katara realized slowly, dumbly. She was in pain, granted, but she knew that her injuries had occurred from hitting the ground so hard, and from her brother landing on top of her.

_Sokka! _With a start, her reeling mind finally caught up with the present. The reason why breathing had been hard was because her brother lay on top of her, smothering her. And the blood... was his.

Rolling him over gently, Katara's large blue eyes stared fearfully at her brother. "Sokka! Sokka, are you alright?!" She received no response from her brother, and the waterbender quickly checked his pulse. It was weak, but she felt a small measure of relief at finally being able to discern light, shallow breathing.

"The Water Tribe boy was smarter than I thought. Perhaps I gave him too little credit. Well, no matter." The feminine voice that greeted Katara was cold, and frighteningly familiar. Forcing herself to stand, Katara turned slowly to greet the cold, impassive gaze of the amber-eyed firebender. "Although... not quite smart enough to save himself, now was he?"

Katara dropped into a waterbending stance, uncorking her waterskin and glaring at the armoured woman standing before her.

"I'm pleased that I was able to get the chance to meet you again, little water peasant. I owe you a favour." Reaching back to gently touch the back of her head, her cold amber gaze met Katara's cerulean one. "Your little stunt did not go unnoticed. Nor will it go unrewarded."

Katara's mind raced as she glanced down quickly at her brother. She couldn't possibly leave him, but fighting here in such closed quarters could threaten to endanger him even more.

"Don't worry about your brother, peasant. You'll be joining him soon enough. I've been practising something a little extra special, lately. I tried it out on little Zuzu once, but unfortunately his uncle was around to save him. You, on the other hand, shall have no such assistance." Azula dropped into her own bending stance, and Katara tensed, her eyes hardening as she realized that a duel here would be inescapable. "...Tell me what you think."

The dry air around them crackled, as Azula slowly traced a circle in the air with her arms. _She's not firebending,_ Katara suddenly realized with a start. Electricity crackled at the Princesses fingertips, and her cold amber eyes were raised suddenly to meet Katara's.

_She's bending lightning._

The ensuing light was bright, almost blindingly so, and Azula's gaze was triumphant as she lingered, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Recovering from her initial shock, Katara leapt forward with a shout, forming a water whip and charging towards her opponent, intent on pushing the battle as far back from her brother as she possibly could.

Azula blocked the attack as easily as one would brush dust from their shoulder, sending a frighteningly bright bolt of lightning screaming towards Katara. The waterbender had barely enough time to roll out of harm's way when her opponent send yet another attack hurtling her way. Summoning up as much water from her canteen as possible, Katara hurriedly bended it in front of her, attempting to form a shield.

The attack was too fast, shattering her defence and sending the dark-skinned bender sprawling backwards. Katara saw stars as she was slammed against the wall, her knees threatening to buckle as she tried to regain her bearings. A hand on her throat froze the blood in the waterbender's veins as her gaze was slowly raised to meet the cold amber eyes of her opponent.

A small, cruel smile graced Azula's lips as she coldly eyed the prone bender. "Well, that was disappointing. Somehow, I expected you to be better. I thought you would at least last a few minutes longer." Her grip tightened, squeezing Katara's air pipes and leaving the girl gasping desperately for air. "Well, no matter. I had a pleasant stay here in Omashu, and tomorrow I will be departing for the Fire Nation with a gift for my father - the Avatar."

Katara's glaring cerulean gaze evenly met Azula's stonelike features, as the fair-skinned woman raised one hand above her head. Again, the dry air crackled as bursts of light began to form in her open palm.

Azula's hand began to swing down towards her, and Katara could no longer manage to keep her eyes open. Squeezing them closed, her remorseful thoughts immediately shifted to Aang and her brother. _I'm so sorry..._

The blow never fell.

Opening her eyes, her confused sapphire gaze met an amber gaze that, though still cruel, was now twisted into a furious scowl. It took Katara several instants to register just what had managed to so infuriate the princess.

A glowing dagger composed entirely of flames licked dangerously close to Azula's pale neck. And the one in command of the flames...

_Zuko? _Katara stared almost dumbly at the scarred firebender, whose attention was focused entirely on his infuriated sibling. _What on earth is Zuko doing here? _

"Let go of the waterbender, Azula." Zuko's voice was cold, although Katara could still recognize anger and emotion behind his words.

Azula conceded with a snarl, and the now-released waterbender dropped to her knees, drawing in deep, ragged breaths. Backing his sister towards the wall, Zuko deftly raised his other hand, and the instant the flame dagger in his hand was doused, reached forward to strike Azula. Moments later she was lying in a heap on the earthen floor.

"We have to go, she won't stay out for long." Zuko barely spared her a glance as he made to carry on down the corridor. When Katara did not immediately follow suit, the firebender stopped, turning back to glare at her impatiently. "Come on, peasant! We can't afford to dawdle all day long!"

A confusing myriad of emotions swirled through Katara, and she briefly wondered if she wasn't already dead, and this was some bizarre trick or dream. But no, the throbbing pain she felt all over her body effectively shattered that illusion. _Why did Zuko come back? _She had little time to puzzle before he turned on her again, repeating the same command. Focussing now more on his words, the waterbender bristled at the infuriating title of 'peasant.'

"Look, my name is Katara, alright?" Struggling to stand, Katara's fierce glare met an equally intimidating one from the firebender.

Glaring, Zuko snorted. "Whatever. Either way, we need to go. _Now._" The firebender turned on his heel, beginning to march purposefully in the other direction when Katara's voice, now less heated, called out to him.

"Zuko, Wait! We can't leave without my brother!" Turning back, Katara stepped carefully over Azula's prone form, striding quickly over to where her injured sibling lay. Her pleading sapphire eyes were raised to meet the exiled prince's as he moved to join her.

Taking a tortuously long time to reach his decision, Zuko finally bent down, his amber gaze meeting her own. "Help him onto my back. Quickly."

Nodding in assent, Katara did as she was told, letting out a soft sigh of relief. "Thank you."

Grunting in reply, Zuko shifted the weight on his back so that it was more comfortable, and made off quickly down the corridor. "We'll have to escape on your bison - the way I came in wouldn't be safe for the three of us." Katara jogged to keep up with his quick pace, nodding as she fingered the bison whistle in her hand. "All we need to do is find some place outdoors..."

Taking another turn right, Katara blinked in the bright sunlight as she found herself standing in an enclosed courtyard. Raising the bison whistle to her lips, Katara blew fiercely, then glanced around nervously.

All they could do now was wait and hope that legions of Fire Nation soldiers would not get to them before Appa did. Glancing sidelong towards Zuko, she saw that he, too, seemed to be sharing her thoughts, as he scanned the area intently for an ambush. The two stood in tense silence for several moments, before the firebender cast her a sidelong glance. "We might be safe for a little while, but it won't be long before they discover our position."

Nodding, the waterbender glanced down towards her waterskin, noting with dismay that there was very little liquid remaining. If it did come to defending herself, she would already be starting off in a compromising position.

"Shh! Quiet! Did you hear that?" Zuko hissed, his gaze swinging back to the passageway they had just exited from.

Freezing, Katara strained to listen, but all she seemed to be able to hear was the pounding of her own heart. Turning around to face Zuko, she frowned slightly. "I don't hear anything-" Halting her statement midway, the waterbender's brows creased, as she listened once again. This time, she heard it. The sound of oncoming footsteps was unmistakable.

At the same time, Katara caught wind of an unmistakable sound, the greeting that could only be uttered from a giant flying bison. She quickly glanced over towards Zuko, who was in the process of lowering Sokka's prone body to the ground. "Stop! Appa's almost here! I'll hold them off until he gets here while you get my brother onto Appa, alright?"

Scowling in what she hoped was assent, Zuko re-shifted the weight of her brother on his back, as the waterbender slipped into her bending stance, realising that with what little water she had left, this could be a challenging battle.

There were two of them, young women. The first one came flying at her, jumping into a handstand and landing neatly behind Katara. Swinging around to face her opponent, Katara barely had time to bend a stream of water from her canteen before the blur of pink clothing and braids came at her with a flurry of punches. Quickly forming a sphere of ice with the remaining water, Katara shaved off three disks instantaneously, sending them flying towards her opponent.

A small smile of satisfaction took to the dark-skinned waterbender's lips as she heard a yelp of pain from the other girl. One of her disks had managed to hit the acrobat. Resuming her attack, Katara shaved off the next round of disks, but her opponent was not to be caught off guard this time. Dodging the first two disks, the girl suddenly came flying straight at Katara, slipping behind her before the waterbender had a chance to block her.

A rapid series of punches to Katara's back sent the ice sphere shattering to the ground. The girl jumped back, staring smugly at the waterbender as she quickly attempted to regain control of the ice.

_What's wrong with my bending? _Katara felt a jab of fear as she attempted desperately to once again bend the shattered shards of ice together. But nothing worked. She simply... wasn't able to bend.

Katara glanced up briefly, just in time to see the pink-clothed girl come flying at her once again, and she raised up her arms in anticipation of the blow. Feeling a large gust of wind, Katara's gaze snapped up, where she was relieved to see the furry bison making his descent into the courtyard. The bison's large brown eyes took in the scene below him, and he quickly understood that his master's companion was under attack.

Landing firmly on the ground, all it took was Appa's large tail to send the girl flying back towards the wall, where she fell and laystill, unconscious. Katara glanced up gratefully towards Appa before she froze, suddenly remembering that she should have been fighting two opponents, not just one.

"Zuko!" Spinning around, Katara's cerulean gaze quickly locked onto the firebender she sought, and her heart caught in her throat as she saw that he was facing a second, darker clothed girl. Sprinting forward and praying she made it in time, the waterbender slid to a halt beside Zuko, then stopped as she realised that there wasn't a battle.

The two were standing stock still, simply staring at each other, before Zuko finally managed to stutter "M...Mai? What are you doing here?"

Not being able to stand the stillness anymore, Katara grabbed Zuko's wrist, effectively breaking the trance between the two. "Come on, you idiot!" The girl's dark glare swung around to engulf Katara as she and Zuko turned to flee. Making their way quickly to Appa's side, Katara quickly helped Zuko put her brother on Appa's saddle before they too climbed up.

"Yip yip, Appa! Hurry!" Grumbling as he rose quickly to the skies, Katara spared a quick glance downwards, noting the shrinking form of the girl as her dark eyes stared upwards at the rising bison.

Feeling they had finally reached a safe enough altitude, she breathed out a sigh of relief, sparing a glance back at Appa's saddle to gaze with concern towards her brother.

"You should land your bison somewhere near water, so you can heal your brother." Zuko's words were clipped, although Katara thought she might be able to sense some concern behind them.

Her distressed sapphire gaze turned towards her hands, as she finally managed to whisper, "I can't."

Glancing up sharply, the exiled prince frowned. "What do you mean, you can't? Are his injuries too serious?"

Katara shook her head firmly, feeling tears prick the corners of her eyes. "No, it's not that. When I was fighting that girl, she, she... she did something to me. I tried to bend, but I can't." Biting her lip, Katara stared dejectedly at her hands, her defeated glance moving over towards her brother. "I can't help him..."

Shifting forward on Appa's saddle so that he sat closer to her, Zuko frowned as he thought. "That girl was Ty Lee. I haven't seen her in years, but she's always been good at hand-to-hand combat. She must have done something to you that blocked your chi..." Glancing down and seeing the city of Omashu shrink thankfully from their sight, the firebender pointed out an area down below in the woods. "Land your bison there."

Confused, Katara looked from the spot he had pointed out back to Zuko. "I don't understand."

Letting out an irritated breath, Zuko's amber gaze hardened somewhat. "Look, I'm trying to help you out, alright? Land your bison there, that's where I left my uncle. I'm sure he can do something that will help."

Looking back towards her brother, whose breathing seemed to have grown more shallow since she last checked, Katara swallowed and nodded, directing the bison to land where Zuko had pointed. _Please, Sokka, just hang on a little longer..._

------

_woot woot! Finally, done chapter seven! Took me long enough, eh? _

_Anyways, I'm hoping to be able to write another chapter as soon as possible, but if I don't update in a while again here's my excuse: in two weeks I'm leaving for a month-and-a-half backpacking trip, where long-term access to a computer would be impossible. I'm so stoked!!_

_So, anyways, we'll see how I manage. Perhaps getting some reviews will encourage me to write faster??? –glances sweetly towards readers– _

_Hope you enjoyed!_


	8. Chapter eight

_Okay, seriously. So I get back from my trip, all excited to be home, and able to go on the computer and watch all the Avatar episodes I miss, and what do I get? First, Zuko goes all super goody-goody. But alright, I figured I could deal with it, especially when he and Katara met, and **finally **have a real conversation... and what does Zuko do??? He goes and freakin' sides with Azula! Was he brainwashed, or what?!?!?!_

_- - takes deep breath - - _

_Alright. Think I got a bit of the anger out of my system. But seriously. I've still got hope for Zuko, though! I'm sure he'll come around at some point, I mean, he kind of **has** to, right???_

_Thanks again to all my incredible reviewers: _Rashaka, Kiko Kamia, szaugglaughs, The Violent Tomboy, Patience Halliwell, MysticalXDreamer, shadow-n-the-dark, NewInTheSun14, Vanilla.Swirls.Of.Doom, PolskaGirl and Han Futsu Anti Normal _Your reviews mean so much to me! Thanks again! _

_Disclaimer: _Same as always, don't own the show, yadda yadda...

_**Penetrating the Smokescreen**_

- - - - - -

Chapter eight

- - - - - -

Azula was livid.

Mai and Ty Lee stood before her, Ty Lee looking especially sheepish and Mai unusually displeased, even for her.

"So, let me get this straight. Not only did you let my brother escape, but you let _both_ of the Water Tribe peasants leave with him, as well?" Letting out a sigh and rubbing her temples in a vain attempt to ease the splitting headache that had taken root, Azula's glare encompassed her two companions. Opening her mouth to continue her tirade, she was interrupted as the doors swung open and a timid soldier entered the chamber, stopping uncertainly before the Princess and bowing low.

"Y-your Highness..." His glance quickly strayed upwards to catch a glimpse of Azula's displeased face, and he swallowed nervously. "U-Um, the Avatar's been safely moved, Your Highness, and he's r-ready to be displaced." His message delivered, the soldier let out a small breath of relief, and took a tiny, trembling step backward.

A small smile took to Azula's lips. "Perfect. Get the rest of the soldiers ready to depart - we leave at dawn." Watching as the nervous messenger strode quickly from the chamber, her cold amber eyes turned their attention back to her two companions. "You're both coming, too - consider it a chance to redeem yourselves."

"Do you think your brother and that Water Tribe girl will try to follow?" Ty Lee's voice was chipper and made her sound even younger than she appeared, and at her words, Mai's frown deepened into a scowl as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Azula's gaze turned from the figures of her two companions, and for a moment, she looked out in the distance, as if she might be able to see her brother and the waterbender, far away fleeing on the bison with the wounded brother. A small, cruel smile lighted her features. "I'm counting on it."

- - - - - - -

Appa let out a low grumble as the giant bison finally felt ground beneath its massive paws again. Barely waiting for the creature to land, Zuko leapt from its back, sprinting forward as he called out for his uncle.

Iroh emerged from the trees, and stopped as he saw the giant bison. Seeing his nephew running towards him, the retired general's wise eyes then quickly took in the sight of the young waterbender, and her injured brother lying unconscious in her lap.

"Uncle! We-"

"Hurry up, Zuko! You'll need to fetch water - and heat it!" Iroh strode quickly past his open-mouthed nephew, reaching the side of the bison. Looking up, he caught the young girl's gaze. "We'll need to move your brother from the bison's back, I'm afraid. Do you think you can manage?"

Katara nodded, biting her lower lip with uncertainty. She too, however, realized the necessity of moving her brother back to the ground, and with much toil - it was difficult trying to move her heavier brother without jostling him - she lowered him into Zuko's uncle's waiting reach. Sliding down quickly behind him, Katara helped Iroh lower Sokka to the ground, placing his head gently on her rolled up cloak.

"Do you happen to have any clean linens that might suffice for bandages?" Iroh's voice was calm and gentle, although the waterbender did not miss the concerned glance that he cast towards her brother. Nodding her head sharply while trying to fight back another onslaught of tears, the waterbender quickly stood, climbing lithely back up the bison's back and rummaging about.

Zuko returned, carrying a kettle filled with water. Placing a hand underneath the kettle, he held it there for a few moments, before handing it to his uncle. "Careful - it's hot."

Iroh nodded his thanks, and crouched down beside the injured warrior. Carefully lifting back the folds of his shirt, the retired general frowned slightly as he ascertained the damage. There was a light thump behind them, and Katara returned to her brother's side, carrying a small pile of white linen bandages. "It's all I could find..."

"Thank you, my dear." Iroh's warm amber eyes smiled towards her briefly, before his attention was once again returned to his charge.

"Uncle, is there anything we can do to help?" Zuko and Katara stood almost awkwardly now, neither sure what they could do to be helpful.

"It would be lovely if you could brew some tea, nephew. And perhaps get started on some dinner? I'm starving!" Zuko nodded, biting back a protest. Much as his uncle spoke cheerfully, he knew from the lines in his face that the Water Tribe boy's injuries were quite serious - Iroh didn't want Zuko getting in the way. Zuko turned and made his way back to where his and his uncle's belongings were, overhearing his uncle's speech to the waterbender as he turned away. "Now, dear, if you wouldn't mind giving me a hand and holding your brother - that's perfect - we don't want him trashing about while we're trying to make this right..."

Frowning as he set about starting a small fire, Zuko's thoughts turned to the waterbender. She was obviously shaken by the fact that she was unable to bend. Casting a glance downwards towards his palm, the banished prince frowned. If he couldn't bend... Zuko shook his head. It wouldn't be pretty. To feel so utterly helpless, watching as your sibling's condition worsened...

Zuko let out a low curse, quickly withdrawing his hand from the heat of the flames. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't realized that he had managed to burn himself. Glaring at the small welt on his fingertip, the firebender made himself busy around the fire, as the glow from the sun began to fade and twilight descended on their camp.

The sound of approaching footsteps drew his gaze upwards, and he caught sight of his uncle and the waterbender carefully transporting the injured warrior to the fire. They laid him gingerly on Iroh's bedroll, and as Zuko eyed the two of them, he saw drawn lines of worry on his uncle's face. The waterbender looked pale. The Water Tribe boy himself was still unconscious, but he looked just as pale as his sister, and Zuko could see sweat on his brow.

Katara rose silently, moving off into the darkness as she gathered some supplies from the bison's saddle. Returning, she laid out her bedroll near her brother's, offering a second one to Iroh with a trembling smile. "Because my brother's using yours."

"Why thank you! I'm sure that it's more comfortable than what we've been sleeping on!" Iroh's smile had returned now, and his infectious good humour finally seemed to spread somewhat to Katara. She smiled in return, crouching down next to her brother and placing a cool damp cloth on his forehead.

Zuko coughed. "Dinner's ready, if you're hungry." Pouring a steaming cup of tea for his uncle, he glanced towards the waterbender. "Tea?"

"Please." Rising from her place next to her brother, she moved to sit near the two firebenders, making sure to always keep her brother in her sight. Cupping the warm drought in her hands, she took a small sip. "Hey! This tastes like the ginseng I bought in Omashu..."

"So you were the one who did the shopping! I knew my nephew wouldn't have been able to do so well on his own!" Iroh let out a small laugh, which deepened as he caught sight of his nephew's scowl.

The three ate in a companionable silence, and once she had finished helping them wash up, Katara took her place next to her brother, placing her hand upon his forehead with a small frown. "He's getting a fever."

Iroh moved over to check her brother, nodding in agreement, and then squeezing her shoulder comfortingly. "Unfortunately, there's little we can do about it. Hopefully it'll break by tomorrow morning... all we can do until then is wait and see. Now try and get some sleep, alright?"

Katara nodded and gave him a weak smile, watching as the retired general settled down to sleep. Looking up and across the fire, she caught Zuko's amber gaze. "Zuko? Thanks again. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't come..." Her voice trailed off into the darkness, and though the fire cast some light, it was not enough to read his expression in the twilight.

He hesitated for a moment before replying. "Don't worry about it - get some sleep." Zuko heard her let out a small sigh, and then lie down next to her brother, rolling about for several moments before finally lying still.

Sleep would not come to Zuko, and he sat for a long time in the darkness, considering the events of the past two days. Always, his thoughts returned to the blue-eyed waterbender. Shaking his head again to rid himself of these troubling thoughts, the firebender suddenly tensed as he sensed movement.

It was Katara. After shifting about restlessly for some moments, she finally sat up, looking carefully around their camp. The small fire had died now, and only the embers remained. In the darkness, she did not see that Zuko was still awake. He watched as she leaned over her brother with concern, wiping his brow with the cloth once again. Slowly getting up, she looked once more around the campfire, and as her gaze lighted on him, Zuko quickly closed his eyes, forcing his breathing to become even as he felt her piercing blue eyes on him.

Satisfied that they all slept soundly, Katara stole off quickly into the darkness, unaware of the shadow that followed behind.

- - - - - -

"Why doesn't it work?" Throwing up her hands in frustration, Katara kicked uselessly at the water. She stood by the bank of a small river, its waters dark as they swirled past her silently. She had been out here for a full half hour, and the most she had been able to force the water to do was to vibrate slightly. Every time, once she thought she had some tiny mastery over the liquid, it slipped past her control, and was carried on down the current.

Sitting down on a nearby boulder, the waterbender watched helplessly as the water swirled by. Her cerulean gaze fell to her outstretched hands, and she trembled slightly as she bit back a sob. "Why can't I bend? Why can't I help my brother?"

"Trying to force yourself isn't going to end up helping, you know."

Katara started as she heard the voice, whipping around while viciously wiping away the single tear that had stolen down her cheek. "Who's there?" Straining her eyes to see in the darkness, she finally caught sight of the firebender as he emerged from the shelter of the trees. His amber eyes glinted slightly as they reflected the pale light of the moon. "Zuko? What are you doing here? Why did you follow me?" Her voice grew more defensive at her last words, as she stepped towards him, angry that he had seen her pitiful attempts at trying unsuccessfully to bend. Had he been there the entire time?

Zuko shrugged, looking unabashed. "I followed you - it's not like it was much of a challenge."

Turning her back on him, Katara gazed out helplessly at the dark waters. "Leave me alone, Zuko. I don't need you heckling me."

The firebender snorted. "And I'd rather be sleeping. But I won't have any peace knowing you're out here on your own with no means of self-defense," At this Katara turned back to glare fiercely at him, " …especially when Azula could have sent out her troops to look for us."

Her glare faded as the waterbender raised her gaze to meet Zuko's. "Aang... do you think he's alright?"

"Azula won't do anything to harm him... at least, not yet. She'll want to take him to Father, as quickly as she can manage." Just speaking of his sister left the exiled prince with a feeling of anger, and he clenched his fists. "Knowing her, she'll probably leave Omashu as soon as possible - in the morning, probably."

Katara nodded slowly, looking down at her hands. "What if it never comes back? My bending... how am I supposed to help Aang without it? And what am I supposed to do about Sokka?"

Cold as he feigned to be, even Zuko was not left unaffected by the sight of the slender waterbender, standing alone in the pale translucent light of the moon. Her proud posture looked almost defeated, and she held her hands out before her and gazed at them as though they had somehow betrayed her. Even in the darkness, he caught sight of the tears as they rolled silently down her cheeks.

Striding forward, he swiftly covered the distance between them, catching her hands in his own. He felt her immediately stiffen, and her wide eyes were raised to meet his own. But she did not draw away. Her small hands felt cold as they were cupped in his own, and Zuko felt the last of his hesitation melt away. "Your bending ability _will _come back... it might just take time. Be patient. And as for your brother, although my uncle's skills cannot compare with yours, he has nonetheless healed many battle wounds. Your brother will be just fine, all he needs is time to heal."

Katara trembled slightly, feeling the warmth that radiated from his hands spread to her entire body. Although his words were spoken swiftly, she took comfort in them, and smiled slightly through her tears. His golden eyes met hers, and for a moment, he offered her a small smile of his own. "Z-Zuko..."

As if her spoken word had shattered the spell that they had shared, the moment between them passed as swiftly as a wisp of cloud covering the stars, and he slid his hands from her grasp. Before she could speak another word or bid him to stay, Zuko disappeared back into the darkness of the trees, leaving the waterbender standing once again alone, hands still slightly outstretched.

- - - - - -

_What in the name of Agni was that? _Zuko strode swiftly through the trees, intent on hurrying back to the campsite as quickly as humanly possible. His racing mind went swiftly over the events of the evening. What had happened by the river...

_What was I thinking? _The compassionate words that had left his lips had not even felt like his own... where had they come from? The sight of the waterbender, so proud but yet so fragile, had caused something inside him to shift, almost like a bursting dam that had once held back a torrent of water. And Zuko did not welcome the feeling.

Stopping, he slapped his hand against his forehead, forcing the images of the waterbender from his mind. _What's the matter with me? _He was obviously sick - some deathly virus, or fever. Even as he stood still, his limbs seemed to tingle. Moving forward with renewed haste, he finally caught sight of a pale glow before him, the remains of their fire.

As he stepped into the fading circle of light, the flames leapt forward, reacting to the confusing swirl of emotions within him. Forcing calm upon himself with gritted teeth, Zuko bid the fire to fall back asleep, swinging around as he heard a soft groan.

"Zuko? Is that you?" Iroh rubbed one eye sleepily as he sat up, eyeing his nephew with the gaze of one still half-asleep. "What's the matter?"

"Uncle, something's wrong with me. I don't feel well." Zuko made his way quickly over towards his uncle, squatting near where Iroh, now more coherent, was sitting.

"Let's see..." Placing a hand on his nephew's forehead, Iroh frowned. At his bidding, the flames came back to life, casting more light about their campsite so that he could better investigate his nephew. Taking several more moments in his examination, Iroh finally shook his head. "Are you sure, nephew? Nothing seems to be the matter."

Zuko stood up once more, but already, the feverish feeling that had possessed him seemed to be slowly draining away. Shaking his head to clear it, he frowned, relieved to feel somewhat more like himself. "No… maybe I was imagining it."

His uncle gazed at him with concern, but there were other thoughts pressing on his mind, and he forced the issue of his nephew's strange behavior aside. "Zuko, what's going on here? You said you forgot something in Omashu, and you come back with the Avatar's bison and his two companions, one almost deathly injured. And the Avatar himself?" Iroh spoke softly so as not to disturb the Water Tribe youth, who lay lightly dozing nearby. The retired general had either not noticed the waterbender's absence, or had chosen to ignore it.

Lowering himself once again so that he sat next to his uncle, Zuko frowned. "Azula has him. We weren't able to get to the Avatar in time."

"We?" Iroh raised an eyebrow as he spoke, noticing that as soon as the words left his lips, Zuko's cheeks flushed crimson. "The waterbender?"

"Her name's Katara. And yes, we had to work together to escape." Sensing his uncle's piercing gaze, Zuko shrugged defensively, furious at the fact that he was flushing an even deeper shade of red. How had that silly peasant managed to affect him so much, anyways? Last time Zuko had checked, he didn't even like her. "Look, can we get back to the matter at hand?"

Chuckling, his uncle nodded graciously. "Of course, nephew." The laughter in his eyes died as quickly as it had come, as he immediately grew more serious. "She will be leaving at first light, of course – you two managed to upset her plans somehow, I assume."

The exiled prince nodded in agreement. His uncle's guess concurred with his own, although not to his pleasure. "I should leave at first light as well, then. Uncle, I can't let Azula bring the Avatar to my father."

Iroh nodded gravely. "I agree. But Zuko, you can't go alone! And how are you planning on attacking your sister? She won't be alone, you know. The Avatar will be well guarded… you won't be able to just walk in, take him and run."

The youth nodded irritably in reply, disliking the preaching tone that his uncle had adopted. "I'm not a fool, uncle. I understand the risks. But I don't have a choice. I need to travel light, and fast. I'll have to find a way to ambush them…" He then fell silent, lost in thought.

Seeing there was no way of dissuading his nephew, Iroh sighed softly. "If you're going to leave then, you should get some sleep. You'll need the rest. I'll wake you before dawn, then you can set out."

Nodding in assent, the firebender moved quietly back to his bedroll. As he lowered himself down to sleep, he looked across the campfire. Katara had still not returned. Feeling concern rise immediately within him, Zuko shook himself with a frown. Since when was he concerned with what the waterbender chose to do with herself, anyways? Grumbling as he attempted to fall asleep, it was with thoughts of the waterbender – whether willingly or not – that sleep finally came upon him.

Lying awake nearby, Iroh seemed somehow aware of his nephew's internal dilemma. A small smile lighted his features as he went over the night's conversations once again. _Forgot something in Omashu, indeed. If I'd forgotten something so fair, I'd have hurried back, too. _Biting back a chuckle, Iroh settled down to sleep, the amused smile still fastened on his lips. _Youth these days…_

- - - - - -

Katara stared after the retreating figure of the firebender as Zuko left her, before her gaze finally fell back down to her trembling hands. They still felt warm, retaining the heat from his own hands. An unfamiliar and unwelcome rush of emotions raged within her – anger at the firebender for assuming that he could touch her, and at the same time, disappointment because he had not stayed longer.

Leaning back against the boulder, the waterbender watched the black swirling water as it rushed by, lost in her own thoughts. What had just happened? _Had _it even happened, or had she been hallucinating? It certainly seemed very much unlike the pig-headed prince to empathize with anyone else's pain…

But then again, he was proving himself to be someone other than the villain that she had always considered him to be. And each time she discovered a new layer of his personality, her overall opinion of the banished prince became more and more muddled. Just what kind of person was he?

Not an enemy, not anymore. The moment he had saved her from Azula, the moment that she beheld him then, she knew that he was not the evil person she had always considered him to be. So where then did that place him? A friend, an ally? She hadn't really felt him to be either, at least, not until he strode forward and grasped her hands…

Her heart had been pounding so hard that Katara was certain he could hear it. How on earth had someone she had felt such ire towards triggered such an emotion in her? Placing a dark hand against her chest, she was vastly relieved to feel that her pulse had slowed nearly back to normal. Just what had happened, then? The barriers placed so carefully between them had suddenly shattered, and as she gazed into his eyes, there was no animosity in them. His features were, for once, unguarded, and his words… compassionate.

"Don't be such an idiot, Katara!" Verbally chastising herself, she turned her gaze away from the water. How long had she been sitting here, alone? Her grip on time, on reality itself, seemed askew. "Well, sitting here won't do either you or Sokka any good."

Her thoughts turned anew to her brother, and the unpleasant decision before her. She couldn't bear to leave Sokka, but would he forgive her when he awoke to find that she let Aang and any chance of rescuing him slip through her fingers?

Rising slowly from her position, the waterbender made her way slowly back to their campsite, stumbling slightly in the dark. There were so few remains of their fire that it was difficult to find her way, but finally she crawled into the welcome warmth of her sleeping bag, and for several long moments, she laid awake, listening to the sounds of the sleeping men around her. Sokka's breathing seemed to have evened out somewhat, and placing her hand on his forehead, Katara was relieved to find that although the fever had not lessened, at least it had not worsened in her absence.

"Goodnight, Sokka." These words she whispered to him softly, before settling herself down to sleep. It seemed to her though, that although she forced her buzzing thoughts to fall silent, she could not manage to completely banish the sight of amber eyes from her vision.

- - - - - -

The sun was shining clearly when Katara opened her eyes. Sitting up and stretching, her gaze fell immediately to her brother. Sokka definitely looked better than he had the night before, although she could tell instantly that he would not be fit to travel for some time. Rising from her bedroll, Katara deftly weaved her hair into a neater braid as she stood to survey their campsite. Her brother's bedroll had been re-rolled and placed aside, and she could hear Zuko's uncle, Iroh, humming in the distance. Zuko's bedroll was nowhere to be seen.

Iroh's voice grew suddenly louder as he entered the small clearing, his vision immediately lighting on the waterbender. "Ah, good morning, young Katara!"

She smiled slightly towards him. "Good morning. How did you know my name? I don't even think I managed to properly introduce myself last night…" At this she frowned, mentally chastising herself for her bad manners.

Iroh let out a chuckle as he approached the small fire, raising the kettle and pouring himself and the waterbender a cup of tea each. "My nephew is not as aloof as he sometimes seems."

Thanking the elder man for the tea, Katara started. "Zuko? He actually used my name? Well, I suppose he couldn't exactly introduce me as 'the peasant,' now could he?" At this she let out a small laugh of her own, her gaze once again taking in their small campsite, and the absent firebender. "Where is your nephew, anyways?"

At her query, a small frown lighted Iroh's features. "After Azula, I'm afraid. I tried to convince him to stay a bit longer, but he would have none of it, and left at first light. I hope he's not getting himself into too much trouble…" The retired general's amber eyes displayed his concern as he gazed past Katara, but the waterbender jumped up as she heard the news.

"What? He left without me to go after Aang? That jerk!" Placing the cup of tea on the ground, the waterbender hurried off, running towards Appa, who was himself just waking. Momo lay comfortably on the bison's furry head, not troubling to react to the waterbender's frantic running about. Within minutes, Katara had a bag packed, and leaping from Appa's back, she made her way quickly towards Iroh. "Where did he go? I can't believe he left!" Gritting her teeth, the youth envisioned many ways of torturing the firebender when she finally caught up with him. Her thoughts were quickly interrupted, however, by a low voice.

"Katara?" It was Sokka, although he sounded much quieter than she was accustomed to hearing.

Dropping down at his side, Katara held one of Sokka's hands to her chest, smiling towards him with relief. "Sokka! You're awake! How are you feeling?"

"Terrible. Did I die?" His blue eyes, similar to Katara's, blinked slowly as he tried to take in his surroundings.

The waterbender laughed lightly. "No, not yet. We managed to get you out of there in time."

Sokka opened his mouth to make another query, when Iroh coughed. "I hate to interrupt, but… if you are planning on catching up with my nephew, I'm afraid you'll have to leave right away."

Katara glanced up towards him, looking torn. Pursuing the Avatar meant leaving her brother, and in his condition, she could hardly do that…

"His nephew? Katara, isn't that Zuko's…" Realization dawned in Sokka's eyes as they widened. He gripped her hand tighter, and the waterbender moved to soothe her distraught brother.

"It's alright, Sokka. This is Iroh – he was the one that took care of your wound. Zuko helped us escape Omashu, although I wasn't able to save Aang. I'm sorry…"

"My nephew is currently pursuing your friend the Avatar, who is being held by his sister, Azula, the firebender who gave you that wound." Iroh's warm amber gaze moved from Sokka to his younger sister. "And if the young lady here would like to catch him, she had better hurry. If it would ease her anxiety somewhat, I'd be glad to stay here with you and your delightful friends," at this point, Iroh motioned towards Appa and Momo, "Until you are healthy enough to catch up with her."

Katara's gaze brightened as she glanced towards Iroh. "You're sure you wouldn't mind?" As he shook his head, her smiling gaze took in her brother's. "Sokka, is that alright?"

The warrior took several painstaking moments before answering. "So, let me get this straight – you're going after Aang… with Zuko?"

Katara could already tell that her brother was raring up to put up another fuss, and she knew instinctively that she didn't have the time for it. Zuko was already at least two hours ahead of her. Placing a hand on his arm, she stopped his protest. "I haven't got a choice, Sokka. I can't take on Azula and all her guards by myself - I'll need help. And Zuko and I seem to have a common interest in this case."

"Yeah, until Aang's been freed and Zuko can take him for himself. He's the bad guy, Katara! Remember? All those months of being chased past our wits end? Who was the one leading that chase? Zuko!" Sokka was working himself into a fuss, and Katara felt the anxiety within her increase. Convincing her brother could take weeks – he was stubborn as an ox.

Iroh stepped in at this point, placing a hand on Katara's shoulder and meeting her gaze. "I'll stay here with your brother - I promise to look after him. You need to hurry. All I know is that he was intending to make towards the main road – Azula will be taking the straightest route to the sea, and from there, the Fire Nation." Katara nodded her head, shouldering her pack.

"Take care of my brother for me, alright?" Crouching down, she ignored her brother's protests and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Sokka. Get better soon, okay?"

Sokka continued to protest loudly as she rose, meeting Iroh's gaze. "Take care, Katara. And if you may, do me a favour as well? Keep my nephew in check, if it's possible. He has the tendency to act rashly, sometimes."

Katara nodded, feeling uncomfortable as she suddenly felt a slight blush take to her cheeks at the mention of Zuko. Turning swiftly to hide the embarrassing coloration, she strode quickly into the forest, disappearing from the sight of her brother and the retired general within moments.

Iroh looked down on the sputtering Water Tribe youth with a smile. In his own turn, Sokka turned his frustrated attention towards Iroh. "Would somebody please explain to me what on earth is going on?!"

- - - - - -

So yeah, back from my trip! It was so incredible! Now I'm back in the snow, and the cold… hurrah… and whoopee! I get to start work again in two days! I'm just bursting with joy! Har har har… - - grins - -

Well, anyways, definitely a different tone to this chapter. I've just finished re-reading all three Lord of the Rings books, and have started reading The Last Trail, by Zane Grey (the only romance that I thoroughly enjoy reading), so these books have probably affected my writing style. Hoped everyone liked the chapter, although not a heck of a lot happened! Please review and let me know! (was it good, or did we prefer the actiony chapters?)

And by the way, does anyone know when Season 3 of Avatar starts? Because Zuko **seriously **has some redeeming (and explaining) to do!

If I don't update again before the 25th, Merry Christmas everyone!! Enjoy your holidays!!!


	9. Chapter nine

_So, it's been a while. Actually, it's pretty much been ages. My apologies, I don't really have an excuse... working two jobs and full time uni does tend to take up some of my time. Speaking of, I should definitely be reading chapters from my Physical Chemistry textbook right now instead of doing this..._

Disclaimer: The characters and the show don't belong to me. Pity.

**Penetrating the Smokescreen**

- - - - - -

Chapter nine

- - - - - -

His temples throbbed. A constant, jarring motion continued to jostle him, intensifying the splitting pain he felt in his cranium. Aang let out a low moan as he slowly opened his eyes, closing them groggily as the swimming, unfocused images threatened to make him nauseous.

Aang's thoughts moved lethargically as he attempted to fill in the missing jigsaw pieces in his memory. _Omashu. They'd made it to Omashu, and..._

_Who where_ they_? ...Katara. Katara and Sokka, his two Water tribe companions._

_So, they'd made it to Omashu, looking for his friend, King Bumi... Fire Nation! The Fire Nation had attacked the city, and Sokka was__ worried about Katara, and..._

His head hurt. Aang moaned, vaguely realizing through the fog that enshrouded his thoughts that his hands and feet were securely, almost painfully, bound; and that he was in a dark, enclosed space. And that that space was moving, in a very jarring, painful manner.

_Sokka was worried about Katara, and..._

Aang slipped back into blissful unconsciousness.

- - - - - -

"What a jerk!" Katara strode through the underbrush, her gaze fixed to the ground as she tracked the banished prince. Although she was no hunter, Zuko was also obviously not interested in disguising his trail, and the disabled waterbender found it easy enough to follow.

"I can't believe he left without me! Without even waking me up!" She was angry, needless to say; but with herself just as much as Zuko. After all, should she have expected anything else? It's not like they were friends- they were hardly even allies, for goodness' sake! But if they weren't friends, and barely allies, then what were they? What was the explanation for what had happened last night, by the river?

"Ugh!" Throwing her arms up in frustration, Katara stopped. What was up with him, anyways? Life had been so much simpler when he had been the enemy, the waterbender reflected. Now that she had to look at him as a human being, she was discovering that he really wasn't a bad person at all. And that discovery complicated things.

Remember Aang, Katara. Forget about Zuko, there are more important issues at hand! Shaking her head as she mentally chastised herself, Katara strode forward with firm purpose. Her sharp azure eyes picked out Zuko's clumsy trail, and for the most part, he appeared to be following the road, although he had wisely kept off the main highway.

As she continued walking, she slowed, frowning slightly as Zuko's trail began to veer away from the highway. Halting for a moment, Katara felt somewhat torn between following the road, and following the firebender's trail. After a moments hesitation, she continued down the path the exiled prince had chosen. After all, perhaps Zuko had known something that she didn't?

After about a dozen minutes more, it became evident that he had not. Katara could tell from his tracks that Zuko had stopped and started fairly often, indicating indecision... was he lost? Katara stifled her laughter as she visualized the proud, egotistical firebender, utterly lost in the woods and only about twenty paces from going in the right direction. Feeling her mood lightening already, she set off at a slightly quicker pace, knowing that she would catch up with the firebender soon enough; and from what she understood of his personality thus far, Katara knew that she could also expect his mood to be foul.

- - - - - -

"Now, I know I've passed this tree before!" Zuko stopped abruptly, glaring at the offending tree, deciding at that moment that he hated the forest, and generally anything natural. One should be able to see where they were going, not be misled by all this damnable, identical trees!

"This is ridiculous. I'd rather face Azula and her guards head on then have to trek through this stupid, miserable forest!" The trees appeared to take no offense at his statement, standing as impassively as they had the first two times he had passed them by. Fore a brief instant, Zuko regretted leaving the waterbender behind, recalling with a scowl his uncle's suggestion that he at least wake the girl before he left. His uncle, as usual, had showed a perturbing amount of foresight, and the firebender admitted the fact grudgingly.

The exiled prince cast his frustrated amber gaze upwards towards the leafy canopy of the tree. "Dumb tree..."

Zuko suddenly stiffened as he caught a muffled sound. Glancing around suspiciously, he heard the sound once again. It sounded like... muffled laughter? Gritting his teeth as he once again glanced upwards into the branches of the tree, he traced the source of the sound. He shouldn't have been surprised, he knew, but he could not help his eyes from widening as he caught sight of the waterbender.

"You know this is the third time you've passed this tree, right?" The cerulean clad youth climbed down the branches gracefully, dropping the last few feet to land softly on her feet next to him. "You seem lost... maybe you should have woken me up so that you wouldn't waste all your time going in circles."

Zuko could feel his temper rising, although he could recognize that the ultimate culprit for his frustration was his own embarrassment for his inadequacy. "If you knew I was lost, why didn't you come sooner?" Now that statement made him appear weak, Zuko noted with distaste, and the last thing he wanted to appear to Katara was helpless. "Or does your friend the Avatar really mean that little to you that you have time to fool around?"

His statement had the desired effect, as the smile melted from her tanned face. An increasingly familiar spark of anger flashed in the depths of the waterbenders eyes. "Well, maybe if you hadn't left without me, this wouldn't even be an issue at all!" She was angry, but Zuko noted immediately that she was alsod deeply hurt by his comment, despite her feigned toughness.

Biting back another potentially cruel retort, Zuko frowned at himself. Since when did he care about some peasant's hurt feelings, anyways? Mistaking his frown to be directed towards her, Katara spun around, moving off hurriedly in a different direction. "Fine! It's not like I needed any of your help, anyways!"

Zuko stared at her retreating back with astonishment. How on earth could a woman's mood change so drastically without any kind of warning? Shaking his head, the exiled prince snapped back from his thoughts to note with surprise that the waterbender was already some distance ahead. As he jogged to catch up with her accelerated pace, the waterbender saw him coming, wiping her eyes angrily as he caught up with her. _Were those tears?_ Feeling an immediate onslaught of guilt, he slowed down and adjusted his pace so that he was now walking beside her.

Ignoring his presence completely, Katara simply strode on forward, her cerulean blue eyes fastened on the indiscernible trail ahead. Zuko instinctively got the feeling that she would keep on ignoring him until he did something to remedy the situation... she was that stubborn. _Just like me,_ Zuko realized with a start.

Swallowing back his pride, the firebender glanced sideways towards the waterbender. "Look, I spoke out of line. I'm sorry."

Katara didn't acknowledge the apology, but she shifted her gaze towards him to ensure that he was speaking sincerely. Although she said nothing to show that she had accepted his meagre apology, the exiled prince sensed an immediate lessening of the tension between them.

The firebender let out a small sigh. _That was close..._

- - - - - -

Sokka opened his eyes, frowning as the sun's bright rays interrupted his slumber. As he made a move to stretch, he winced as the ensuing pain reminded him poignantly of his injuries.

The young warrior lay still for several moments, taking stock of his surroundings. He lay on his familiar blankets, in the same campsite as he vaguely recalled from earlier this morning. He recognized somewhat instinctively that the elderly firebender was someone he could consider trustworthy, and also that he was safe, at least for the time being. As for his sister... Sokka fought back the agitation that arose when he reflected on his sisters traveling companion.

Sokka pushed these thoughts from his mind, recognizing with frustration that there was nothing he could do to help his sister, at least not until he healed. He lay for several moments more before turning his head slowly to the side. Zuko's uncle was sitting nearby, hunched over a _pai sho_ board. _Odd... _Sokka thought to himself, I_ thought that_ pai sho _was a game for two.._. Curious now, Sokka peered more closely, realizing now that Iroh was not playing solo. The old man was playing a game of pai sho with Momo.

Sokka blinked twice, turning his head to look back at the sky above him. _I need more sleep..._

- - - - - -

_So, it's short. My apologies. But at least it's a chapter, a long-lost, long-awaited chapter! Sorry for taking an aeon to post. Good news is, I've got more on paper that just needs to be transferred and no midterms until next week. So read! Enjoy! And please leave a comment as well!_

_...So that I know that someone out there is reading this... :)_


	10. Chapter ten

_Woot woot! Made it to chapter 10! Many thanks to Lucrezia6565, DearFriends, and icedragoncat for the lovely reviews!! To the rest who read but did not leave a friendly comment, shame on you! Give my poor self esteem a boost and leave a note this time; and maybe then I won't wait a whole year for the next update! :)_

_Disclaimer: _The characters and the show don't belong to me. I couldn't afford to buy it if I wanted to.

**Penetrating the Smokescreen**

- - - - - -

Chapter ten

- - - - - -

Katara and Zuko walked through the woods in a companionable silence, although Zuko had now fallen back to trailing behind the waterbender. They were both painfully aware of the fact that the young firebender was more than lacking when it came to directional skills.

Although Katara understood the severity of their mission, she could not help but enjoy the weather and her pleasant surroundings. Even the company wasn't that bad, she reflected. Definitely quieter than she was used to, but the exiled prince had proven to her yet again that he wasn't as inhuman as she had first suspected.

As a matter of fact, the girl realized, neither had spoken since Zuko's apology. And now that she was focusing on the lack of conversation between them, the less companionable it seemed. Katara glanced back briefly, but the firebenders thoughts seemed elsewhere. Turning her attention back to the path ahead, her own thoughts shifted to her brother, Sokka. _Please be alright... _She could not help but worry about the warrior, despite the knowledge that he was in completely capable hands. Thinking of her brother invariably made her feel guilty, and the young waterbender forced her thoughts elsewhere.

_Aang, where are you? _They were following the road, although they were keeping to the surrounding forest as it was too dangerous to risk any encounters with potential enemies. They did this with the good faith that Azula was bringing Aang to the Fire Lord along that route. Although Zuko seemed certain that this was the path his sister had taken, Katara could not help but be doubtful. _What if he's wrong?_ The waterbender shook the unwelcome thought from her mind. This was the path they had decided on, and she better trusted Zuko's judgements on the Fire Nation's internal affairs than her own. Either way, Katara realized, they'd have to find a town, or some people, to confirm that Azula had truly passed this way.

_I really need to be focussing on something else_, Katara realized. Her mood had gone from optimistic to sour in a matter of minutes. Fingering the familiar canvas of her water canteen, Katara frowned as she considered her currently impotent state. How on earth had that girl managed to effectively handicap a master waterbender?

Who were those two, anyways? The acrobat's name was Ty Lee, Katara recalled. Her movements had been so quick they had been hard to track, let alone intercept. And the other girl... hadn't even fought. She obviously knew Zuko, that much was clear. And she hadn't seemed to be appreciative of the waterbenders interruption, either.

Her cerulean gaze wandered back to the firebender, who still seemed lost in his own thoughts. _I wonder what's on his mind_, Katara puzzled. Either way, she knew that she definitely couldn't keep operating under the assumption that all he cared about was the capture of the Avatar so that his father could win the war. After all, he was helping her save Aang, right? _I wonder if he's thinking about that girl?_ She had been pretty, Katara recalled. Dark hair, refined features. To say their meeting had been brief was an understatement - the waterbender had definitely had more pressing matters on her mind; but the girl's nobility had been blatant regardless.

_Zuko said her name.... Mai?_ _How well do they know each other, I wonder? ... And why on earth would I care?_ She shook her head at the thought. Really, she shouldn't care at all who Zuko called friend, or girlfriend, or whatever this Mai girl was. After all, it's not like the two of them were friends. They were just allies, united in a common goal... right?

Katara groaned inwardly. _I should have just kept thinking about Aang and Sokka_. Now that the issue was on her mind, she couldn't shrug it off. Just who was this girl, anyways?

_N__ow I'm being silly_, she chastised herself, _obviously I don't care what their relationship is. So why should I be afraid to ask?_

Glancing back, she sought to meet the exiled prince's eyes. "Hey, Zuko?"

Finally looking up, he seemed somewhat surprised that she had spoken at all. "Yes?"

"Back in Omashu, when we were escaping, those two girls... who was Mai? It seemed like the two of you knew each other."

Zuko's amber eyes widened at the question, and a flush of color rose rapidly to his cheeks. He broke eye contact and glanced away, his jaw tightening. "Mai was my sisters friend growing up, the same as Ty Lee."

_He's embarrassed!_ This revelation brought Katara a certain measure of glee, and perhaps a small amount of relief at knowing that Zuko did actually experience human emotions. It also served to pique her curiosity. "Oh, come on, Zuko! I'm not stupid, there was obviously _something _going on there!"

The firebenders fists clenched as his eyes flashed anger, and Katara had an itching feeling that she may have gone a little too far. "It's _nothing_. We grew up together. Maybe if I hadn't been banished something would have come of it, but any chance of that was pretty much destroyed over two years ago. End of story."

Katara stopped, turning around to face him. For a brief moment, it looked as though Zuko was contemplating plowing straight through her. Reconsidering, he stopped, choosing to instead glare angrily at the branches of the trees above. "Well you didn't need to snap at me about it, I was just curious, that's all." The waterbender felt guilty about prodding him so far on an obviously touchy subject, but also a little stung by the ferocity of his rebuttal. Why did he have to get so angry and defensive about everything? Spinning on her heel, she strode forward at a more rapid pace. "Forgive me for bothering you, your royal highness!"

_Why bother?_ Fuming as she stomped forward, she missed the company of her companions even more. At least you could have a conversation without getting your head bitten off by some soiled ex-prince! What made him think he could treat people that way, anyways?

The next dozen minutes dragged by painfully for both of them. The waterbender became increasingly aware her aching legs, and grumbling stomach. It was nearing late afternoon, and they had maintained a steady pace all day. Ahead of them, she could see a small clearing in the woods, a rest spot off the road with a spring and some enticing looking grass to sit down on.

"I'm taking a break." Without any further ado, Katara strode up to the spring, refilled her canteen, and sat down forcefully on the grass nearby. Following behind her, Zuko stood almost awkwardly, not knowing whether to sit or stand, and well aware of the fact by now that Katara's glare was piercing daggers in his direction. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, but she refused to meet his gaze. Finally clearing his throat, she gave him a withering glance.

To the boys credit, he was able to meet her eyes and still manage to form coherent sentences. "Look, I'm sorry. Again. I flew off the handle... it's a bit of a touchy subject for me. The terms of my banishment are... well, something I'd rather not spend too much time reminiscing about." Unconsciously, the firebender reached up to finger his scar.

Katara frowned, noticing the gesture. Where had the scar originated from, anyways? Obviously a firebender, but who? It would probably be best to wait for another time to bring up that subject, she reflected. For now, she should probably be relishing in the fact that the egotistical prince was actually apologizing to her - for the second time in one day.

"Don't worry about it too much, Zuko. I probably shouldn't have asked, anyways." A slight smile tugged at her lips as she visualized the blush on his cheeks once again. "But you know, you really don't need to get so defensive all the time - having feelings for someone else is perfectly natural." Her voice was sweet as honey, but her smile betrayed her humor.

For a moment, she was concerned that the prince might actually explode. Finally, he let out a breath, and sat down across from her. "You know, you're right, peasant. I should really learn to control my emotions," his words could not have been more insincere. The firebender continued, "And you're right, it was a perfectly honest question. Come to think of it, I've been curious about something as well:

Just what is your relationship with the Avatar, anyways?"

Katara sat back, opening and closing her mouth several times as she beheld the firebender. This was not at all what she was expecting. To her vexation, she could feel the heat seeping into her cheeks as her thoughts invariably flew to the events at the Cave of Two Lovers. Zuko's smirk only made matters worse as she struggled for words, visualizing only the darkness of the cave, the pale flickering of the light as it began to die out, and Aang's lips, illuminated eerily in the darkness.

"Th-there's nothing going on between Aang and I!" The waterbender stammered, desperately trying to get the image out of her mind and her emotions under control. "We're friends! Just friends!" Her words sounded hollow, even in her own ears. They were true, though, weren't they? Aang was just her friend, after all. Although they had come dangerously close to a kiss, they had been interrupted by the illumination of the cave just prior. And Katara was honestly grateful for the interruption. A lot had happened since the event in the cave, and she hadn't had much time to piece it out. She definitely had feelings for the Avatar, but... who knew just what they were? Friendship was a strong association, and Aang was the closest friend she had, next to Sokka. He was also one of the first males her age she had come into contact with besides family. Of course she'd had a crush. Who wouldn't? He was the Avatar, after all.

Suddenly aware of the silence stretching between them, and of the heat in her face, Katara met Zuko's gaze. "The Avatar and I are just friends, Zuko. Nothing more."

"Whatever you need to say to convince yourself." Zuko's voice was dry, but... was that a smile? The waterbender paused to stare at the firebender, who was now eyeing her as though she had lost her mind. "Are you alright?"

Katara grinned, and Zuko looked puzzled. Before the shared moment could become awkward, Katara stood up, brushing bits of grass from her robe. "You know, Zuko, I'm pretty sure that's the first time I've seen you actually smile."

Almost as if her words had broken the enchantment he was under, the expression melted from his face as the firebender stood up. "We should carry on. Hopefully there'll be a town up ahead, so when can get some information before nightfall. We need to find out if Azula passed this way."

"I seem to remember one being nearby, when Sokka was looking at the map a few days back." Rummaging through the pouch containing their meagre supplies, she selected two ripe apples, tossing one to Zuko. "We should pick up some more supplies, too. I left most of them with your uncle."

Zuko nodded his thanks as he caught the apple. "You're probably right. We should get going if we want to reach that village before sundown."

- - - - - -

Iroh eyed his opponent with a frown. "Well played, my friend. I haven't met such a challenging opponent in a very long time." Placing down another tile, he motioned graciously towards the lemur. "Your move."

His bright green eyes taking in the pieces of the board, Momo chattered inherently, before moving one of his chips.

Iroh stroked his beard, eyeing the board thoughtfully. "Interesting..."

- - - - - -

Twilight was slowly descending as Katara finally caught sight of several small cottages ahead. A further look indicated that it was a small, fairly average looking Earth Kingdom town.

"We can set up our camp nearby, then someone can head into town for more information," the waterbender said as she set down her satchel. "This should be a good place to rest for the night; and if we make our fire near that hill there, no one should be able to see the smoke." Katara indicated the area she was speaking of, a relatively secluded area surrounded partway by a hill with a steep rock face, and partly by tall pine trees. Unless someone else happened to be stumbling around seeking to stay off the road, it would be a perfect place to spend the night unseen.

It was still light out as the two set down to a light meal, each ravenously hungry. When they had both satisfied their stomachs, and filled their water canteens from a nearby river, Katara stood and donned her cloak. "I'll head into town to ask around to see if you're sister has passed this way. There's no way a group of Fire Nation troops could have passed this way without someone noticing."

Zuko stood quickly. "No way; it's too dangerous for you to go. My sister could have stopped for the night, or left some soldiers behind in case we pursued. I should be the one to go."

"Your scar is way too recognizable, Zuko. Plus you're way better known to the Fire Nation than I am." Katara frowned towards him slightly. "I can take care of myself - you know that. I'll be back before it gets too dark; I can't promise it'll be before nightfall though."

The firebender opened his mouth to argue, but Katara had already turned her back, and was striding off into the trees before he could get a word out. His amber gaze followed her blue-clad form as she threaded her way through the trees and eventually disappeared from sight. Letting out a small sigh, the firebender turned back around, getting started on making up camp for the evening, and trying not to think too much about the potentially dangerous situation the waterbender was now facing on her own.

- - - - - -

Katara entered the hazy, smoke filled inn, adjusting her hood around her face to hide her features. She stood in a relatively crowded pub, and was uncomfortably aware of the fact that other than a single waitress doling out large pints of amber ale to the customers, she was the only female in the room. Get a grip, Katara. Swallowing back her nervousness, she waded into the smoke filled room, trying not to look too conspicuous and she glanced at the customers. She breathed a small sigh of relief as she failed to catch sight of any firebenders.

A man burped loudly nearby, and the waterbender winced. Maybe firebenders wouldn't be so bad. After all, they did seem to be a little more refined than the intoxicated men in here. Walking towards the barkeep gingerly, she eyed him as he doled out several more pints, before clearing her throat loudly. He glanced down towards her, his expression showing mingled surprise and irritation at her interruption. "We don't serve your kind here- you should be upstairs with the other girls; you'll get your drink later."

Katara flushed red as she realized what he was implying. "I'm not some whore, you idiot!" Her retort came out louder than she intended, and she realized uncomfortably that several men nearby were taking more of an interest in her than she'd like. "I just want information," she hissed quickly. "Did a group of firebenders pass through here earlier today?"

The barkeep eyed her suspiciously. "And just why do you want to know, little lady?" His voice was deep as he turned to eye her, and despite his graying hair he still looked about twice her size and weight.

She shifted her weight, shooting a glare towards a man who was ogling her in a manner that she was altogether uncomfortable with. "Why should it matter to you? Just tell me if they passed this way!" This conversation was not passing nearly as well as it should have, a small part of her reflected. Coming into this bar was probably a bad idea in the first place, but it had seemed the most sensible place to look for information.

The waitress approached the bar with more orders, and the barkeep frowned, clearly wanting her gone. "Yes yes, alright. They came and left. And the whole town's all wound up about it." He began doling out several more pints. "Now get out of here before you cause any trouble with the men!"

Katara didn't need any more encouragement. She spun around, intending to make straight for the door, and let out a yelp as she collided straight into the chest of the man that had been eyeing her up. His strong hand gripped her as he smiled lustily at her chest.

"Get your dirty hands off of me!" Katara pushed him back, and the pint spilled down the man's chest. Acting quickly, she kneed him where it hurt, and as he broke his grip with a shout, she slipped quickly out the door.

Leaning her back against the closed door and sucking in a deep breath of fresh air, Katara let out her breath. _That was too close..._

- - - - - -

"She's been gone way too long," Zuko muttered as he paced back and forth near the campfire. It hadn't taken him long to get set up, and the rest of his time had been spent contemplating what could be happening to the waterbender. Several scenarios played through his mind, one of which involved his sister, who would most likely be eager to exact revenge.

"Way, way too long." Zuko paused, and for the dozenth time considered following after her. As he went to take his first step, he could already visualize Katara's furious gaze as she concluded that he hadn't been able to trust her to handle things on her own.

Caught in a dilemma between two potentially furious women, the firebender glanced upwards towards the darkening sky, noting that the first few stars were steadily making their appearances in the deepening twilight.

"She's definitely late." Nodding almost as if to agree with himself, the exiled prince decided on his course of action. "It's not my fault the peasant can't keep track of the time, after all." Justifying his reasons that way was far easier than admitting that he just might be concerned about her welfare.

With his rationale now sorted out, the firebender made his way quickly through the trees, following the path that Katara had trod only hours before.

- - - - - -

"Thank goodness that's over with." Katara wrinkled her nose as she made her way down the darkening alley. "I hope Zuko's got some tea going..."

Her footsteps echoed loudly in her ears as the waterbender moved forward. Frowning, the waterbender halted. Her footsteps weren't echoing at all. She was being followed.

Spinning around, she didn't even have time to let out a shout as a sweaty hand clamped around her mouth, and a strong arm swung her back into the wall of the inn. Wincing, her blue eyes widened as they took in the sight of the same drunkard she had injured just moments before. His eyes narrowed as he pushed her harder against the boards behind her.

Swinging her arm to grasp at the hand that held her, she winced as another assailant grabbed at her and twisted her arms painfully behind her back. Her eyes teared slightly as she bit her lip to prevent a moan from escaping, quickly taking in the number of attackers.

_Four._ Four was nothing for her, a master of her element. Using her fingers with a practiced motion, she moved to uncork her water canteen, already envisioning an immensely painful experience for her assailants.

Nothing happened.

- - - - - -

_Dun dun dun!_

_What next?? Will Zuko ever make it in time? And who will win the game of pai sho?! I guess we'll all have to wait for the next chapter to find out!!_

_P.S.- I'd feel way more motivated to write if I received a few inspiring reviews. Just saying. : )_


	11. Chapter eleven

_Alright! I apologize for leaving the cliffhanger.... I couldn't resist though! To clear up some questions posed by reviewers,_

_ive-already-seen-hell and SnowCharms: Zuko knows about Ty Lee blocking Katara's chi (he mentioned a few chapters back i think); and you're absolutely right, Iroh probably could have done something about it... but if Katara can kick butt without Zuko needing to help it would certainly make things less interesting :)_

_Thank you all for the lovely reviews: ArrayePL, NekoDoodle, icedragoncat, Calamitynexus, Totally CRAZY and Hyper, ashurin, samdizon, SnowCharms, tinkrbell225, ive-already-seen-hell, Olena, Anon, vicious-fluffy-bunny-llama, fallendeathlord, Sempiternus, Atem's Sister Atea, and Kamalia!! Every review made my day!_

_Disclaimer: _Don't own the show! Because Zuko obviously wouldn't have ended up with Mai if I did!

**Penetrating the Smokescreen**

- - - - - -

Chapter eleven

- - - - - -

Katara's breath came in sharp gasps as her widened cerulean eyes took in the sight of her attackers. Four. Four large, intoxicated, burly men, each of whom was easily twice her weight and size.

"Not so tough now, are you?" His breath stunk as the drunkard moved closer, his lips now far too close to her own for comfort.

Katara drew back in disgust, realizing with dismay that she had practically no room to negotiate as she bumped into the second man positioned behind her.

"Now, let's see what's under this little blue dress." His eyes flashed with lust as he moved to grasp at the folds of the blue fabric that covered her bosoms.

Drawing in her breath sharply, the waterbender yanked up her knee, which contacted solidly with his groin. The drunk dropped down to the ground with a groan, and she struggled to free herself. "Don't you dare lay your dirty hands on me!"

He rose far more quickly than she expected, his open palm making brutal contact with her cheek. The blow was so intense that her breath was expelled from her, and she let out a surprised gasp. Her cheek throbbed, and she could tell that a bruise was already forming. The two men not directly involved in the assault leered in assent, staring greedily towards her.

"I like spirit, but that's too much for my taste," her attacker grunted, wiping his parted lips. He stunk of liquor, and his voice was hoarse with desire. "I'll teach you to behave." He moved more quickly this time, too fast for her stunned body to produce a reaction. He pressed his lips painfully against her own, his intrusive tongue penetrating her virgin lips. He pressed one of his hands roughly against her bosom, groping her.

Lifting his face from the unwilling kiss, he gazed at her triumphantly. "See, even you ain't too hard to break." His gaze wandered wantonly to her breasts, one of which he was still painfully groping. To her horror, his eyesight then moved southward.

_No, no, NO_! This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening! Katara was gasping for breath now, wincing at the pain of her bruised lips and the continual violation of her breasts. She was going to be assaulted, and she couldn't fight back. A desperation stemmed from deep within her, and panic rose soon after. She couldn't stop this.

His attention shifted from her bosom to her clothing, which restricted his movements. He pulled down one sleeve of her dress roughly, revealing the tight white bindings beneath.

Katara was frozen. It was almost as if she was watching the transgression from afar. A portion of her mind felt strangely detached, as if what was happening was neither real nor could hurt her in any way. Another fraction of her had already given into a helpless hysteria. Her breath was ragged in her ears, her arms bruised and aching from being wrenched around so forcefully. Her lips stung, and a sour aftertaste of liquor lingered in her mouth. The evening air felt cold, so cold on the bare skin of her shoulder.

She was trapped.

- - - - - -

Aang awoke, again in darkness. The faint sounds of spider-crickets chirping outside his entrapment alerted him to the fact that it was now most likely evening. He had spent the day drifting in and out of consciousness, although he had never really been conscious of the passing of time.

His throat felt heavy and sore, parched from lack of liquid. His stomach reminded him painfully that he could not recall his last meal. But these were small worries in the mind of the Avatar, who was slowly and groggily regaining threads of cognizance.

Aang had always had a fifth sense, so to speak, that helped make him aware when his comrades were in danger. And the young airbender had a strong, uncomfortable sense that both his water tribe companions were currently in jeopardy.

Blinking twice, he made an attempt to take stock of his surroundings. He was in a cell, that much was certain. It was dark, and he was unable to discern anything else about his prison. He was chained, both at his wrists and his ankles, and his bonds were made of heavy, well-wrought iron. From first glance, it wasn't looking like escaping would be much of an option.

His sensitive ears picked up the sounds of movement, somewhere outside his cell. The rusty creaking of heavy iron locks being shifted and moved focussed his attention forward, as a starlit outline replaced utter darkness, signaling the opening of his prison door.

"So you're the Avatar? Smaller than I expected. I can't believe it took Zuzu so long to unsuccessfully capture you. How pathetic." A strangely detached, but very well-spoken female voice drifted towards him in the dark. The sudden illumination of flames caused him to blink against the light, and Aang attempted to determine the identity of the speaker. She was female, a firebender with ebony hair and disturbingly familiar golden eyes. A flame, the source of the sudden light, flickered in her open palm. She shook her head, then turned to face someone outside her line of vision, presumably another firebender.

"Give him some water and some bread, but be careful. Set an extra watch to make sure that he doesn't try anything." She turned to face him, and a smirk touched her lips. "My father will appreciate the great gift that I have brought him. And the whole world will celebrate the ultimate victory of the Fire Nation."

- - - - - -

Katara dully registered that her assailant was now clumsily attempting to pull down the second sleeve of her dress. He was getting frustrated, and a cold logical part of her mind reasoned that he would soon be impatient enough to tear her garments right off.

She was suddenly aware of an abrupt change in her attacker's attitude. The man who held her arms quickly stiffened, and she winced at the renewed discomfort. She became faintly aware that all four men were now staring at a newcomer, a dark shape that she could not make out through her tearing eyes.

"Let her go." The voice seemed familiar to her, somehow, but her mind was scattered in a thousand different directions and the waterbender could not make sense of anything that was happening. The newcomer stepped forward into the faint light that lit the alleyway, and sudden realization swept over Katara. It was Zuko.

His eyes flashed golden, in an anger that she recognized, although she had never seen it so intensely before. His voice was low, and she sensed rage in that tenor. "Leave now, and I might just have the compassion to let you live."

Her attacker chortled as he dropped his hands from her shoulders. "An' you think you would be a match for the four of us, eh, half-pint?" The man holding her arms let them go, stepping around her to face this new threat. With nothing supporting her, Katara sunk to the ground, her knees no more supportive than the branch of a bruised sapling.

Zuko stiffened, his face a mask of fury. "I'll show no mercy. But you don't deserve any."

The two cronies who had stood by watching her assault stepped forward first, their muscles tightening as their large palms clenched into fists. As one moved forward to throw a well-backed punch at Zuko, he slipped gracefully out of the way, reaching back to draw two twin, curved blades. Before the grunt could regain his balance from the missed thrust, the firebender brought down the butt of his sword hard on his attackers shoulder. The man crumpled like a felled tree, and lay moaning on the hard packed street.

Realizing that they were opposing an armed man, the three remaining men shared a concerned glance. Zuko didn't pause. The darkness disguised his movements and he seemed to come from nowhere as he dashed forward and struck at the closest peasant, who took two hits from the hilt of his twin blades before falling to the earth, grasping at his chest.

The brute who had taken pleasure in restraining Katara's arms jumped forward with an angered shout, which the warrior quickly silenced. Zuko brought up the butt of his sword and struck his attacker's face squarely in the cheek. The faint moonlight illuminated the saliva as it was expelled from the man's gaping maw, his pained grunt seeming loud in the silence. One more swift blow with the blunt edge of Zuko's blade brought the attacker to his knees, moaning as he cradled his damaged face.

The last man standing was the drunkard, who was no longer looking quite as confident as he had less than a minute prior. He held out his palms in a consolatory gesture. "Look, we obviously got off on the wrong foot. What say we just go our own separate ways?"

"That option was forgone the moment you set your hands on her." Zuko's voice bled rage. "And I will make you pay."

His eyes flashing a conglomeration of anger and fear, the drunkard leapt forward with a shout. Zuko wasted little time on him, swinging his blades to strike him once in the chest with the hilt of his sword, then bringing up his knee to make contact with the peasant as he fell. The air whooshed audibly from his chest, as the man fell down to his knees. He looked up towards the firebender, and there was no anger left in him, replaced now with fear. "Please..."

Zuko's blows were swift and resounding, and left the man unconscious and lying face-down in the dirt. He spared his opponent one final, disgusted glance, before returning his twin blades to their respective sheaths. His chest rose and fell with his even breath as he took stock of his four felled opponents.

Katara's wide eyes had watched it all. She still sat, half-fallen, half-kneeling, her hands splayed out on the ground. She was aware of the goosebumps on her exposed skin, but felt just as strangely helpless over her body as she had during the entire ordeal.

The firebender moved quickly towards her, kneeling down before her. The fury that had shone so strongly was now replaced by blatant concern. "Are you alright?" It was too dark to see the bruises on her already tanned skin, but the ivory of her bindings stood out like a sore thumb in the darkness, and he touched her arm gingerly.

At his touch, Katara regained sudden and complete control over her body. She slapped his hand aside as if revolted. "Don't_ touch_ me," she hissed. Zuko drew back as if stung. Abruptly aware of her exposed condition, the waterbender quickly slipped her arm back into the sleeves of her dress, drawing the folds of blue fabric cross-wise over her chest to cover the white bindings. She stood up quickly, wobbling slightly before regaining her balance. The firebender rose silently beside her, eyeing her but being careful not to touch the distressed waterbender.

Katara was still breathing heavily, and she took a moment to orient herself. Without a single word, she crossed her arms and pressed them firmly across her chest, as if to cover up any nakedness that could have remained. She set out silently in the direction of their camp, without sparing a single glance at either Zuko or her felled attackers.

The firebender paused for a moment, looking almost lost, before following her, careful to keep a safe distance.

- - - - - -

Zuko remained silent the remainder of the trip back to their campsite, as did Katara. The fire was still eating its way through the remaining wood, casting a dull red glow on the immediate surroundings. He eyed the waterbender, noting that her expression was carefully composed. She could have just come from a casual stroll for the amount of emotion she betrayed.

She stood still for a moment, her gaze elsewhere, and he felt at a loss. What was he supposed to do?

"Can I make you some tea?" She started as he spoke, but did not look at him. Shaking her head, she walked over towards her sleeping bag, and lay down on top of the blankets, her back to the ground and her face the sky.

Zuko stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do or say. Was he supposed to console her? She didn't seem to want any comfort at all. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" The waterbender snapped, not bothering to spare him a glance. "Leave me alone."

Unconvinced, Zuko sat down on his blankets, feeling helpless. What more could he do? With a sigh, he lay down, staring impatiently at the stars, his mind abuzz with concern for the girl laying across from him.

- - - - - -

Iroh sat back, a contented smile gracing his lips. "Don't be too upset, my friend. Using the Lotus tile is a very useful, but often underestimated tactic!"

The lemur's green eyes creased with what might have been interpreted as frustration as he threw down one of his tiles onto the board in defeat.

"Well, I'll tell you what; let's have a rematch in the morning then! I'm always up for a friendly game!"

Iroh watched as the lemur stalked away, pausing to glance up at the deepening twilight as his brows creased in concern. "I hope you are taking good care of each other out there..."

- - - - - -

Several hours must have passed, as Zuko drifted in and out of a light, restless sleep. The fire had died to leave only its embers, and the exiled prince stared up into the night sky, replaying the events of the evening for the thousandth time. He felt an enormous amount of guilt for having taken so long to get to Katara. The frightened and defeated look in her cerulean orbs felt singed into his memory.

As he thought of the waterbender, a muffled sound caught his attention, and he stiffened in alert. Their camp was once again quiet for several moments, until Zuko caught the sound again, faint but still discernible. The sound was unmistakably that of weeping.

Katara was trying to keep quiet, and he slowly and quietly turned his head to peer at her. He noted that she had her head buried into her arms, hugging her knees as her body curled inward to make her seem even smaller than she already was.

The same feeling came over the firebender as during the night by the stream, stronger and more insistent than before. That such a strong and independent individual was left so shattered seemed criminal. The soft sounds of her sobs only served to emphasize the waterbenders fragility.

The sounds continued for several more minutes, as Zuko listened. He was in agony about what to do; she had made it clear she wanted him nowhere near her. But how could he ignore such gut-wrenching, unguarded emotion?

He lay still for several more moments before making up his mind. Zuko stood silently, but Katara was so engrossed in her emotions that she didn't notice his movements. She still lay atop her blankets, and as he moved stealthily towards her, he could see her body shivering in the cool night air.

Moving to her side, the firebender swallowed back the last of his doubt. He lay down quickly beside her, feeling her body immediately stiffen as it contacted his own. Her curled body fit perfectly into the mold of his own as he lay on his side, draping one arm across her own, placing his hand softly on one of hers, covering her icy fingers.

He dared not breathe, as Katara lay stiffly and silently for several moments that seemed to drag out into an eternity. And then her fingers curled tentatively to clasp his own, icy cold against warm.

As one they both let out their breath, though neither spoke. Gradually, Katara ceased to shiver, and the sobs that had wracked her body finally calmed. Her voice was still hoarse with tears when she finally spoke. "I couldn't fight back... I was helpless..."

Instead of replying, the firebender simply squeezed her hand, and Katara seemed to take comfort in the gesture. For a long time, neither spoke.

The two benders lay still beneath the stars, hands clasped. Zuko listened as the pattern of Katara's breathing finally changed, signaling sleep. He lay awake for several moments longer before he too, drifted off into blissful slumber.

- - - - - -

_Well that was a little more than PG-13. I added a little more fluff then I was originally intending, too; but it seemed like good timing._

_Let me know what you think! As always, your reviews are greatly appreciated!!_


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